Christmas (Jul)
Swedish Jul (Christmas) is a month-long celebration that begins with the first Advent candle in late November and culminates on Christmas Eve — the most important day in the Swedish holiday calendar. It is a season of candlelight, saffron, pickled herring, and deeply held traditions that blend the sacred and the secular, the ancient and the modern, the reverential and the delightfully absurd. Nothing captures the Swedish spirit of jul quite like the fact that the entire nation sits down at 3 PM on Christmas Eve to watch Donald Duck cartoons.
Other Advent traditions include:
- Adventskalender (Advent calendar) — Chocolate calendars for children, and a beloved television Advent calendar (julkalender) that broadcasts a new episode daily from 1–24 December. The TV julkalender is a national institution dating to 1960
- Pepparkakor (ginger biscuits) — Thin, crisp ginger biscuits baked in star, heart, and goat shapes. Eaten throughout December, often with glögg
(13 December) — The candlelit procession that marks the season's emotional peak - Christmas markets — Julmarknader (Christmas markets) at Skansen (Stockholm), Liseberg (Gothenburg), and throughout the country sell crafts, food, and glögg
Julbord — The Christmas Buffet
The julbord (Christmas buffet) is Sweden's most elaborate meal — a vast, multi-course smörgåsbord served from early December through Christmas Eve. Swedish restaurants offer julbord throughout December (book well in advance — they sell out), and families prepare their own at home.
The Julbord Sequence
Like the midsommar
- Herring course — Multiple varieties of pickled herring: mustard, onion, dill, curry, glasmästarsill
- Fish course — Gravlax, smoked salmon, smoked eel, lutfisk (lye fish) (dried whitefish reconstituted in lye — the most divisive dish on the table)
- Cold meats — Julskinka (Christmas ham) (the centrepiece), liver pâté, sylta (brawn/head cheese), prinskorv (cocktail sausages)
- Hot dishes — Köttbullar (meatballs), Janssons frestelse (Jansson's Temptation), revbensspjäll (spare ribs), cabbage rolls
- Cheese — Swedish hard cheese, blue cheese, often served with julöl
- Dessert — Ris à la Malta (rice pudding with whipped cream and oranges), pepparkakor, toffee, chocolate (the Aladdin box)
Lutfisk — Love It or Leave It
Lutfisk (lye fish) is the julbord's most contentious item: dried whitefish soaked in lye for days until it becomes a translucent, gelatinous mass, then cooked and served with white sauce, mustard, and peas. Devotees regard it as a cherished tradition; detractors describe it as flavourless jelly. It is declining in popularity but remains present on many julbord tables, particularly in western Sweden.
Julskinka — The Christmas Ham
Julskinka (Christmas ham) is the culinary centrepiece of Swedish Christmas: a large, bone-in ham, boiled, coated with egg and breadcrumbs (and sometimes mustard), then browned in the oven. It is served cold, sliced thin, throughout the holiday period — on the julbord, on sandwiches, as a midnight snack. Making the julskinka is a household event, and the quality of the ham is a matter of family pride.
Christmas Eve — The Main Event
Christmas Eve (julafton (Christmas Eve)) is the principal celebration day — more important than Christmas Day in Swedish tradition.
The Day's Schedule
- Morning — Preparations: final julbord dishes, tree decorating, rice porridge (julgrynsgröt (Christmas rice porridge)) with a hidden almond (whoever finds it will marry in the coming year)
- 1 PM — Many families watch SVT's re-run of the Lucia celebration
- 3 PM — Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul ("Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas") — a compilation of Disney cartoons broadcast on SVT since 1959. Approximately 3.5–4 million Swedes (~40% of the population) watch this every year without fail. It is the most-watched programme in Swedish television history, repeated annually. Changing the broadcast time or content provokes national outrage
- After Kalle Anka — The julbord dinner. Families gather around the table for the full buffet, with candles, aquavit, julmust, and glögg
- Gift-giving — Tomten (the Christmas gnome/Santa) delivers presents, sometimes in person (a family member dresses up), sometimes left under the tree. Each gift traditionally has a julklapp (Christmas present) verse — a short, rhyming clue about the recipient
- Evening — Church services (julotta (early morning Christmas service) on Christmas Day is traditional), singing, and the quiet contentment of the Swedish Christmas
Tomten — The Swedish Santa
Tomten (the Christmas gnome) is Sweden's gift-bringer — a figure that blends the Scandinavian
The Christmas Tree
The julgran (Christmas tree) is central to Swedish Christmas, decorated with candles (traditionally real, now usually electric), straw ornaments (julbock (Christmas goat) — straw goats are a distinctively Swedish decoration), tinsel, and baubles. The tree is typically erected in mid-December and stays until Knut (Saint Knut's Day) (13 January), when it is ceremonially stripped and removed — "Christmas is over" ("Julgransplundring").
Recommended Reading & Gifts
- A Scandinavian Christmas — recipes, crafts, and traditions for a Nordic-style julafton (affiliate link)
- Swedish Straw Ornament Set — traditional handmade straw decorations including julbock goats and stars (affiliate link)
- Swedish Glögg Spice Kit — authentic mulled wine spice blend for making glögg at home (affiliate link)
Explore: Lucia Day for the candlelit prelude to Christmas, Julmust for the essential Christmas drink, or