If you work, your holiday is called semester, which can be somewhat confusing if you are familiar with Latin. Industrisemester – general industrial holiday – refers to the few weeks every summer.
During this time, factories traditionally closed down completely and all workers went on holiday. If you are a student, the word for holiday is lov, which means permission (compare it to the English leave), and sommarlov is therefore the word for summer holidays for anyone attending school.

The industrial holiday and summer holiday was established in the 1930s

At this point in history, workers’ associations and trade unions reached an agreement with industry to include paid holidays in workers’ contracts. It was agreed that industry would benefit from granting workers paid holidays.
At the same time, many believed that workers were unable to decide how to use their time off. As a result, factories closed at the same time as the haymaking season.

Many workers had moved to towns or cities for employment.
However, they still maintained strong ties with their families in the countryside. During their holidays, they returned to rural areas to help their families on farms during the busiest time of the year.

Because everyone took their holiday at the same time, directors could also take time off and visit their families in the countryside. This has contributed to the relatively relaxed attitude among management and executives that still exists today.

Initially, workers were entitled to a minimum of two weeks of holiday, and over the years this entitlement has increased.

Today, everyone, regardless of sector or position, is entitled to a minimum of 25 days of holiday per year. If you wish, you have the right to take at least four consecutive weeks during June, July and/or August. However, it is now increasingly rare for entire companies to close down.
Instead, holiday dates are commonly negotiated individually two or three months in advance. Legally speaking, you cannot be required to check emails or answer work phone calls while on holiday.
You are also not expected to carry out any other work-related duties. However, given today’s technical framework, many people still do so occasionally.

I know many international professionals who have been shocked to see their Swedish colleagues and managers simply walk out the door.
They wish everyone a good holiday even as the business is going through a major crisis.

Traditionally, industrial holidays began immediately after Midsummer or during the first week of July. Statistics show that for many decades these months also offered the most sunshine. These dates are no longer mandatory, and the weather has often been better later in the summer.
As a result, an increasing number of people choose to take their holidays later and embrace a more continental lifestyle.

Childhood summer holidays

Surprisingly, this shift has been rather slow. Many people still stick to the traditional dates. According to research, childcare is the main reason. Preschools and after-school clubs often close in July. All children in preschool are entitled to an alternative arrangement.
However, many parents are reluctant to leave their children in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by new faces. As a result, they choose to take time off when childcare facilities are closed.

The child’s perspective is important

Many Swedes have a romantic relationship with summer holidays.
These feelings often stem from childhood memories they want to recreate for the next generation.

My own childhood, up until my late teens, was mostly spent in the countryside. Although my family was fortunate enough to own a summer house, I also spent many weeks with friends and their relatives in cottages all over the country. For years, I returned to the same grandparents of someone who was not so much my own friend as the child of my parents’ friends or colleagues.

These stays were characterised by independence and exploration. We roamed the countryside unsupervised, discovered pine-clad paths and deep, dark forest lakes, and cycled for miles to reach the nearest kiosk for ice cream. There were dilapidated barns, damp cellars and wasp-infested attics to explore, where we built our own castles and headquarters.

Isolated from my family, school friends, urban habits and everyday routines, I developed a new identity. Far away from my familiar environment, a separate version of myself reappeared every Midsummer and slowly faded a week before school resumed in August.

I have noticed that this kind of role-play continues into adulthood.

You may see otherwise ordinary colleagues suddenly blossom at the beginning of June, experimenting with outfits and dusting off props to become artistic on Gotland, glamorous on the west coast or rugged in Norrland. The stage is sublime: twilight over pebble beaches, morning mist over endless conifer-covered hills, and glittering brackish water in the archipelago. Rituals and traditions are strictly observed. Gender roles are often stereotyped, and sometimes reversed.

This romanticised view reinforces traditions and routines, often inspired by an idealised vision of the past.

Further reading

• Arbetsmiljöverket: Working Hours Act
• Sweden.se: National Day
• Work in Sweden guides