Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

SWEDISH TRADITIONS

Things you should NEVER say to a Swede on Lucia day

Sweden celebrates its favourite Italian Catholic saint on December 13th. Don't say these things to the Swedes on this beloved winter holiday.

Published: 9 December 2015 07:50 CET
Updated: 13 December 2023 06:42 CET
Things you should NEVER say to a Swede on Lucia day
Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip as Lucia and a star boy in 1984. Photo: Anders Holmström/Scanpix

1. It’s too early in the morning (det är för tidigt på morgonen)

Here’s what you do. You get up early in the morning on December 13th, go to your school, workplace, local church, or what have you, and watch as a nominated girl or young woman dons a white dress, wears a wreath of candles on her head and sings Christmas songs.

Don’t complain about the fact that it’s still pitch black outside (this is Sweden in winter). If you prefer to stay in your pyjamas, switch on your TV to watch Swedish public broadcaster SVT show the event.

If you’re a Nobel winner, there’s absolutely no escaping this peculiar Swedish tradition. Because December 13th is just a few days after the Nobel Prize gets handed out in Sweden, the Nobel laureates traditionally get woken up in their Stockholm hotel rooms by Lucia and her fellow singers.

2. Isn’t she from Italy? (är hon inte från Italien?)

It’s a bit surprising that one of the secular Swedes’ favourite holidays is named after a saint. Even more surprising that she is, or was, Italian. Lucia (or Saint Lucy) was a Catholic girl martyred in Syracuse, Sicily, in 304 AD.

It remains unclear quite how she worked her way into Swedish tradition, although December 13th was marked as the shortest day of the year under the Julian calendar way back in the 14th century.

Anyway, best not get tied up in a history debate with your colleagues. Just smile along nicely.

3. Why is that man wearing a skirt? (varför bär den där mannen en kjol?)

Even in these days of gender equality, the girls have pretty much got Lucia wrapped up. But it is becoming increasingly common for schools, workplaces and charities organising the traditional Lucia procession to pick a man to headline the act, albeit usually as a ploy.

However, the break with tradition did spark a media storm in southern Sweden in 2014 after a boy was picked to represent his school as Lucia. In 2016 a major retail chain was forced to pull its advert of a boy as Lucia after he received racist abuse.

4. What’s a gnome doing next to a gingerbread man and a boy in a pointy hat? (vad gör en tomte bredvid en pepparkaksgubbe och en pojke i spetsig hatt?)

The modern Lucia procession includes several other popular characters. Children dress up as Swedish tomtar (gnomes), gingerbread men, and stjärngossar (“star boys”), as well as Lucia and her maidens. They all have their own theme songs to which the Swedes know all the lyrics.

The star boys are an excuse for men who did not fancy putting candles in their hair but would quite like a dress to live out their dream. They also wear long, white robes, but instead of a crown of candles they get a pointy hat.

5. I don’t like saffron (jag tycker inte om saffran)

As the famous Swedish saying goes, a holiday is not a holiday without some bizarre Swedish food to accompany it (there’s a possibility we just made that up). But be prepared to gorge on traditional saffron-flavoured Swedish Lucia buns (lussekatter). Oh and don’t forget to wash everything down with some glögg.

6. I thought they had banned Lucia? (jag trodde att de hade förbjudit Lucia?)

Almost every year, at least one story of a Swedish town scrapping Lucia goes viral – this news cycle is almost as much of a December tradition as Lucia itself. One school was forced to backtrack in 2012 after it told pupils not to dress up as brown gingerbread men, another popular Lucia character, for its procession. It usually boils down simply to waning interest. Bah humbug we say to that!

This article was first published on The Local in December 2015.

For members

SWEDISH TRADITIONS

Why August is an underrated month for summer holidays in Sweden

In her first week back at work after an unusually late summer holiday (by Swedish standards, at least), The Local's Becky Waterton wonders why Swedes seem to overlook August as a great summer month.

Published: 20 August 2024 04:42 CEST
Updated: 24 August 2024 08:01 CEST
Why August is an underrated month for summer holidays in Sweden

Anyone who has spent the summer working in Sweden knows that the country grinds to a standstill after Midsummer when most people head out to their summer houses for three weeks (or more), returning in early August.

By the end of July, most Swedes are already back at work, lamenting the end of the summer as autumn approaches. At the start of August, I heard someone on the radio say that autumn was just around the corner. 

Maybe it’s due to my childhood spent in the UK, where school holidays usually don’t start until the end of July, but I couldn’t help but think that Swedes are overlooking one of the best summer months.

The weather is still great

Sure, the weather is usually good in July, too, but it’s not like temperatures drop to 15 degrees and the sun stops shining on August 1st (not every year, at least). In the last two years, at least down here in Skåne, the weather in August has been better than in July, with more sun and fewer rainy days.

Even if August is too hot or muggy for you, then surely you’d rather spend those stuffy, warm days lounging by the sea or a lake in a Swedish forest somewhere than sitting at your desk working?

There are fewer crowds

Another advantage of going on holiday when most of the country is already back at work is that any summer destinations or attractions are much quieter. In August, you can beat the crowds of schoolchildren and holidaying Swedes, which is much less stressful.

Of course, you might be joined by tourists from other countries where holidays in August are more common, whether that’s Brits travelling during their school holidays, or people from southern European countries like Italy or Spain coming to Sweden for a “coolcation” to escape the heat back home. 

READ MORE:

Even something as simple as a beach day or a day trip to a local castle or natural beauty spot can be much more enjoyable in August than in July, if you’re not a fan of big crowds.

One very specific advantage in taking August off for people living in Malmö where I live is that you can enjoy Malmöfestivalen – a music and food festival which takes over the city for a week – during the day, avoiding the crowds in the evening.

Flights are cheaper

Making the most of the quieter months also extends to going on holiday. If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel outside of the school holidays, you can save a lot of money by travelling in August instead of in July, and the airport will probably be emptier than usual too. 

This applies to train tickets, too. The summer rush (and some of the summer maintenance) is over, so it’s a good time to plan a day trip or Swedish getaway – although it’s probably a good idea to avoid the rush hour commuters.

You’re more likely to get the summer weeks you want

Although you’re always entitled to at least three consecutive weeks of holiday in the summer months, that doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get the exact three weeks of holiday in mid-July that you ask for, as everyone else probably wants those weeks too.

If you want time off in August, though, your boss will probably approve it happily, knowing that you’ll be able to cover for everyone else during those quiet weeks in July when everyone else is off at their summer house.

It makes your summer feel longer

If you choose to work through July and take August off, things aren’t exactly busy before you go on holiday. You probably won’t be able to get anything done that requires collaboration with anyone else, and you’ll most likely see your workload diminish.

That doesn’t mean you should start slacking off, but it does mean that the pace will naturally be slower than usual and things will be less stressful. And there’s nothing to stop you from heading to the beach, enjoying your daily fika coffee break in the sun outside, or meeting up with friends after work.

READ MORE:

By the time your colleagues are all returning from their holidays, you’re only just heading off on yours, which can make it feel like you’ve somehow hacked the system to get even more time off work during the summer to decompress.

Most of the shops and lunch restaurants are open again

During July, shops and restaurants in the city centre often close as staff take a break over the summer. If you’re on holiday in July, you can’t make the most of a cheaper midweek “dagens lunch” deal, as these often cater to office workers.

READ ALSO:

In August, however, the workers are back and the restaurants are open again – and you can eat your cheap lunch while smugly remembering that you don’t need to rush back to the office once you’ve finished your meal.

SHOW COMMENTS