Curious about Swedish holidays, personal milestones and national races? This section explains how people celebrate, what to bring, what to say, dress codes, invitations, and why these traditions still shape everyday life.
Ever experienced a Happy Birthday Swedish style? I recently celebrated a big birthday party and discovered the various ways to congratulate someone in Swedish. There is, in fact, an array of ways to say it, some obvious and some frankly odd.
Valborg in Sweden is a rich tradition and a fun night out. For a non religious country, it may seem surprising that Sweden celebrates many Christian and Pagan holidays. Valborg, also known as Walpurgis night literally means witch night. Traditionally, whole towns would gather around huge bonfires and try to scare off evil spirits and witches.
What is Valborg? Valborgsmassafton a.k.a Walpurgis Night – in English, falls on the 30th of April (last day). All major cities within Sweden celebrate Valborg annually. It is one of the look-forward-to days on the Swedish calendar. If the city has a University then at a 99% confident interval, it will have a special event for it.
Each year on the 30th April, crowds gather in many Swedish cities to celebrate Valborg, an ancient festival heralding the arrival of spring and commemorating St Walburga, an 8th Century Christian missionary known for fighting witchcraft. Valborg in Uppsala (Sweden’s fourth city) is a particularly big and popular celebration.
In a world which has, until recently, moved at an ever-faster pace, there is something very reassuring and peaceful about the way in which Sweden adheres to a well-established calendar of festivals throughout the year. It gives a rhythm to the seasons, as well as heralding their secrets.
How would you like to be able to understand Swedish midsommar songs this year? There are dozens of midsommar songs to choose from but we’ve chosen the 3 most commonly sung midsommar songs around the midsommarstång (midsommar pole).
Midsummer eve (midsommarafton) is one of the most celebrated days in Sweden. So let’s play one step forward, one step back.
What makes everyone in Sweden happy? Summer. Life in Sweden can be sometimes challenging due to the long and dark winters. But it changes when comes the summer and the light brings people together. Midsommar in Sweden is the start signal for summer long vacations and family time.
Nobeldagen is a major annual event: every year, recipients and their immediate families arrive in Stockholm during what is known as Nobel week, with events building up to the main awards ceremony on December 10th, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel.
In Sweden, Mother’s Day is always celebrated on the last Sunday of May. This is late compared to the other countries and the reason for this late date is to make it possible for everyone all around the country to go outside and pick blooming flowers.
Halloween in Sweden is a relatively new holiday (as it is in most of Europe) and adoption of the American tradition has been interesting to watch as an American immigrant living in Sweden. So, trick or treat?
How do you celebrate halloween in Sweden? The most magical time of the year is knocking on the door. Trick or treat? It’s up to you to decide how to celebrate the turning of the light and welcome the dark winter season. Pick your favorite activity from our Halloween guide.
Christmas and Advent in Sweden. Is it your first Christmas away from home or are you experienced to the Swedish way of advent and Christmas by now? Few things can make us feel at home as much as traditions which also means that being a part of new traditions in a new country, can be very disorienting and lonely. So let us do our best to give you a comprehensive guide to Swedish Christmas and advent traditions.
Christmas (Jul) in Sweden is a cozy time – filled with lots of white lights, snow, freezing temperatures, trees lit up in every town centre. It is also the darkest month of the year, meaning Swedes go wild with the tea lights and stars in the windows to make up for the lack of sun. Let’s take a dive into how Christmas is celebrated in Sweden.
Let’s face it – the darkness during the winter months sucks. So it’s not surprising that Swedes, being resourceful creatures, have come up with a a bunch of activities to battle the December blues and most of those are centered around something called Advent.
The end of the year is here and we yearn for the white winter. It is almost like the way they celebrate Christmas Eve and New Year in every other country — the festive lights and red-white decorations surround you. Except, it’s freezing cold and the nights are darker and longer here. Yes, you know what I’m talking about – it’s Sweden!
Wedding parties are a great way to observe and learn about the culture of a country. From the multiple-day long weddings of India, to the all-you-can-eat banquets of Portugal, or the more spontaneous ceremonies of Las Vegas, they are all a show of local habits, social behaviours, and family relations in that particular place. Sweden is no exception.
Swedish races of all shapes and forms are a staple in the life of many Swedes. The beginning of the year, to me, equals with optimism: Longer days, a fresh start, a pretty-much empty diary waiting to be filled with exciting opportunities and of course the new years resolution. I’m definitely not alone in promising myself to eat more healthily, drink less alcohol and do more exercise, but how do you keep up the motivation?
Have you heard of Sportlov? Basically, it’s a week off from school to ski, snowboard and sled. Across Sweden, thousands of people wax their skis and pack their bags for a week in the mountains.
Sweden’s biggest open water swimming race attracts approximately 16,000 participants over a weekend, with a variety of distances and races for all ages and abilities (this year 8th-10th July).
Vätternrundan in Sweden is one of the classics. The name of the race literally means round lake Vättern. It has been suggested that Vasaloppet is the toughest classic for the body, but Vätternrundan is the toughest for the mind.
Göteborgsvarvet is probably the largest half marathon in the world, with about 60 000 registered participants and almost 50 000 runners. It happens every May in Gothenburg and it’s magic.
Have you heard of Lidingöloppet in Sweden? Well, you will now. Running is not my favourite past time…. But there are always exceptions and Lidingöloppet is one of them!
