As in many secular countries, Christmas in Scandinavia is very
much about being with family and friends, eating good food,
getting out in the snow and singing traditional songs. In fact,
Swedes, Norwegians and Danes have never adopted the word
Christmas and refer to the holidays as Jul (Yule), its 'original'
pagan name.
Christmas falls within days of the winter solstice, which is
believed to have been when the Vikings held their midwinter
sacrifice celebration. But some historians now say that it is
more likely to have taken place in January, which is when
they appeased the gods with offerings and putting on a
grand feast.
roughout Scandinavia, as elsewhere in Western nations,
the pagan Yule rituals were adopted by the church when the
area became Christian from the 11 ODs and onward, and
today they are a mixture of heathen and religious celebrations,
with additions throughout the centuries. ese include the
Christmas tree which started becoming common in Scandi
homes in the 1700s and advent candles, which arrived in
the early 20th-century and can now be seen in every window
come December.
Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway all have 24 December
as their main day of celebration, when families gather and
presents are handed out. What most Scandinavians hold dearest
at Christmas time is the food, and it is at the dinner table where
we find slight variations in the way they celebrate.
Clockwise from
top: A famous
depiction of
Harald Fairhair,
the first king
of Norway who
ruled from the
9th to the
10th-century
- the word Jul
was first used
in an ode to him;
wooden woven
heart decoration
viking.com
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