Christmas in
Sweden
Celebrated: December 13 (St. Lucia Day) through December 25
Signature traditions
- 1.St. Lucia Day on December 13 — the eldest daughter wears a white robe and a crown of candles, leading a procession with saffron buns
- 2.Watching Donald Duck on TV at 3 PM on Christmas Eve (a beloved national tradition since 1959)
- 3.Julbord — an elaborate Christmas Eve smorgasbord lasting hours
- 4.Hiding a single peeled almond in the rice porridge — whoever finds it gets a wish or marries within the year
- 5.Tomten (a small house gnome) leaving small gifts and protecting the household
What's on the table
Julbord and risgrynsgröt
The julbord includes pickled herring, gravlax, ham, meatballs, and Janssons frestelse (a creamy potato-anchovy gratin). Risgrynsgröt — sweet rice porridge with the hidden almond — is essential.
The iconic decoration
The Yule goat (julbock) and straw stars
Hand-woven straw goats and straw stars are everywhere. The town of Gävle erects a giant straw goat each year — and it has been burned down by mischief-makers more than 30 times since 1966.
How gifts are given
Tomten (or Jultomten) delivers gifts on Christmas Eve afternoon, often arriving in person — usually a friend or relative dressed up.
Did you know?
Sweden's Christmas Eve isn't complete without the Donald Duck Christmas Special (Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul) at exactly 3 PM. Around 40% of the country watches the same hour-long broadcast — among the most-watched TV events in Sweden each year.