New Year in Sweden. Specialties, what they do, what they do. Festive dishes on the New Year and Christmas table in different countries of the world
This article will focus on national dishes on the New Year and Christmas festive table. But first, a little introduction about whether in all countries of the world it is customary to celebrate the New Year.
January 1 - Gregorian New Year begins. But on the world map there are countries in which the New Year comes at a completely different time. Or, this date is not assigned the status of a holiday and a day off. Which countries do not celebrate the New Year?
For example, Muslim countries do not celebrate the New Year, since the celebration of the change of dates is alien to Islam in principle. Muslims can go to a restaurant or to a home dinner on this day at the invitation of friends, but rather out of respect.
Some of the countries living according to the Persian calendar celebrate the New Year - Navruz - on March 22. For example, Iran, Afghanistan. And on this occasion, specific national dishes are prepared.
In some countries with a Persian cultural heritage, both holidays are celebrated (January 1 and March 22), but they are given different meanings. For example, in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Macedonia.
In Israel, the New Year - Rosh Hashanah - is celebrated according to the Jewish calendar and it happens in the fall. And on January 1, only immigrants from the former USSR celebrate the new year.
In Asian countries, rich in their national holidays and rituals, there is an even attitude towards January 1. For example, in South Korea, January 1 is a day off, but you should not expect magnificent celebrations, they will occur later - on the day of the Korean New Year - Seollal, which is set according to the lunar calendar.
A similar story is in China. There are no noisy festivals and folk festivals on January 1. And the Chinese New Year (Chunjie), which falls on the period from January 21 to February 21, is already celebrated on a grand scale, with fireworks, processions and a traditional family dinner.
It is no secret that in the Catholic part of Europe and America, more importance is attached to Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25, and all the main efforts and holiday preparations are directed towards this holiday. The New Year is celebrated more modestly and in the format of parties with friends.
And in countries located on the territory of the post-Soviet space and professing Orthodoxy, the New Year is celebrated before Orthodox Christmas (January 7), and, as a rule, on New Year's Eve, from December 31 to January 1, more magnificent feasts are organized. This has happened since the times of the Soviet Union, when the authorities prohibited religious holidays and people began to celebrate the New Year on a large scale.
It is a wonderful tradition to gather at the festive table for the whole family! New Year's festive table - as one of the symbols of the holiday. Some countries have developed their own superstitions about what should be put on the table in order to attract happiness, prosperity, good luck in the coming year, and which dishes are best avoided. Some traditional recipes have not changed for centuries!
Let's go with you on a gastronomic trip around the countries and see what dishes are present on the Christmas and New Year tables in the countries celebrating these holidays!
What do they eat for New Year and Christmas in different countries?
Italy
Christmas is the most important and anticipated holiday of the year in the Catholic part of Europe! But, probably, the strongest emotions and adherence to traditions are in Italy, where almost the entire population professes the Catholic faith. In addition, it is on the territory of Italy that the Vatican is located, where the Pope of Rome celebrates Mass.
Snack stars After Christmas Mass, Italians gather at home for.
In each region and family, there is a certain established order. Someone cooks a lenten eve dinner, and the next day has a sumptuous gala dinner. For someone, one smoothly flows into the second. As a rule, they cook on a lean table (eel or cod), with spaghetti. For the gala dinner, the hostesses offer and, or cold cuts, sausages, tortellini (Italian dumplings) in broth.
For dessert - Italian pies: panettone (cake with dried fruits, reminiscent of Easter cake) and pandoro ("golden bread"), e, as well as dried fruits and nuts.
Traditional Italian biscuits - Biscotti But it is not customary to treat apples, as they symbolize original sin.
Christmas festivities smoothly flow into New Year's. Italy is a country of fun, so New Year is celebrated here noisily and cheerfully.
The same Italian dishes are present on the New Year's table. Traditional fish and seafood. It is believed that fish caviar eaten on New Year's Eve will bring wealth.
Pork dishes are obligatory: pork legs and sausage - which symbolize forward movement. But chicken dishes are avoided.
Also, they put nuts, lentils and - as a symbol of health and longevity on the table.
There is also a place for traditional holiday baked goods on the New Year's table.
A glass for the New Year is raised not with champagne, but with Italian wine!
England
For the British, Christmas is a family holiday with many traditions and customs. It is believed that as you celebrate Christmas, you will spend the next year, so everyone is trying to have fun from the heart and set a rich table.
As a side dish - baked vegetables or potatoes. Favorite sauces - and sauce from.
For dessert you will be served Plum pudding. This is a traditional holiday dessert in Great Britain and Ireland. For its preparation, use bread crumbs, prunes, raisins, almonds, honey. Pudding is considered a family tradition and the recipe can be inherited. It is usually prepared in advance - 2-4 weeks before the holidays. During serving, they flambé - sprinkle with cognac or rum and set on fire.
Traditional ones with dried fruits and nuts are also prepared in advance.
The sweet table is quite diverse, on it you will find and, shortbread and macaroons, shortbread and sweet rolls. Of the spirits, the British prefer -, punch and English spicy ale, the cup with which is traditionally raised for health and well-being!
New Year is celebrated with cheerful companies in pubs or at home, but without a lavish feast, with alcoholic drinks and light snacks.
New Zealand, Australia and other countries that were English colonies have adopted the traditions of celebrating Christmas, including culinary ones.
America
And in the New Year, they get by with snacks and drinks, indulging in fun. They prefer strong alcoholic drinks and.
There are many versions of the origin of the world's first cocktail, including the most romantic ones. But they are all somehow connected with the cock tail. It is confirmed in writing that the cocktail was first mentioned in 1806 in New York, in the Balance and Columbian Repository, where the cocktail was defined as “Stimulating liquor, consisting of any alcoholic beverage with added sugar, water and bitters. from herbs ".
Among New Year's cocktails among Americans are popular:
Red Currant Champagne - a cocktail of champagne and red currant or cranberry puree;
Ginger Sparkler - Champagne, ginger wedges and sugar
Champagne Punch and Sangria - punches and sangria with different berries and fruits;
Cranberry Sparkler is a non-alcoholic cocktail made from cranberry puree, orange juice and soda water.
In the cuisine of the southern states, the influence of Latin American cuisine is also felt. On the Christmas table, tamal may be present - a dish of meat and corn that is cooked in corn leaves.
Canada
In the English-speaking part of Canada, Christmas dinners are similar to English and American dinners.
The main dish of the table is turkey. It is served with potatoes or mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce.
For dessert - pudding. Bake traditional.
Obviously, the French-speaking part of the country is dominated by the traditions of France.
France
In France, the main holiday of the year is Christmas.
The whole family gathers for reveillon - dinner on Christmas night - December 24th and indulges in the feast almost until the morning. refined and varied, replete with a large number of dishes from vegetables, cheeses, which are famous all over the world, high-quality wines,.
Needless to say, Christmas dinner turns into an exquisite feast.
The French are gourmets, the festive table must be accompanied by delicacies: foie gras (goose liver), oysters, king prawns, and others, as well as French cheeses and fried chestnuts.
A number of dishes have a ritual past and symbolize one or another action.
A traditional dish on the French table is poultry, goose or duck, cooked with a special delicacy, stuffed with, for example, mushrooms, goose liver or truffles, marinated with various spices and baked.
Another traditional dish is the festive rooster, kaplan, which is bred and fed in a special way for its larger size and more delicate taste.
Another tribute to tradition is the Christmas log - Buche de Noel. There was an ancient custom of burning a Christmas log, dating back to paganism, when the arrival of the winter solstice was celebrated by burning a log. Now no one burns the log, but the tribute to tradition has remained, and the log appears on Christmas night in the form of a sweet roll on French tables. The French also have territorial gastronomic features of the Christmas table.
Le pain calendeau - Christmas bread, traditional for the south of France, part of which is usually given to the poor.
In Provence, it is customary to serve 13 desserts (according to the number of 12 Apostles and Christ), which include all kinds of sweets and dried fruits.
And, of course, all this variety is washed down with French wine and champagne. And what, even in the homeland of the drink?
Belgium
European countries bordering each other and having common historical roots have similar cultural and culinary traditions.
Belgian cuisine has absorbed a lot of French, Austrian and German.
On the festive table in Belgium, there are meat dishes, a special role is given to pork (it is considered the most prolific animal).
Among the sweets, in many ways similar to all European ones, one can note the Christmas wreath - ceremonial cookies with almond filling, sprinkled with almonds and candied fruits, in the shape of a ring. , which the Belgians consider their national product, can be found here all year round, even on the New Year's table.
Germany
Christmas in Germany is the most anticipated holiday of the year. They start preparing for it in advance. Christmas markets have started to work in cities since November. On them you will find all the attributes of Christmas, decorations, souvenirs, try traditional spicy mulled wine, and other national treats.
A few weeks before Christmas, the Germans prepare (Stollen), a traditional Christmas cupcake. To prepare it, raisins and dried fruits are soaked in cognac or rum in advance, and after baking, the stollen is abundantly sprinkled with powdered sugar and sent for storage - to ripen until Christmas night.
On Christmas Eve itself, or Holy Night (Weihnachten), German families gather around a richly set festive table.
As in many other European countries, the main dish on the festive table is fried goose. It can be cooked with apples and prunes, or with dumplings, and each family has its own signature recipe.
Potatoes and vegetables are served as a side dish. In addition to the goose, stewed cabbage (Sauerkraut) and fried sausage or pork shank (Eisbein) must be served.
Also on the Christmas table is a must.
And this is no coincidence, since fish is an ancient symbol of Christianity.
In general, everything that is served on the table on Christmas evening is symbolic. There is a tradition of serving seven or nine courses for the "holy supper". Mainly cereals, seeds, and other products that personify new life - wheat, peas, beans, nuts, poppy seeds, caviar, eggs. And wheat porridge, seasoned with butter and honey, is attributed to magical properties. solid and solid, like everything German. Many recipes have survived unchanged since the Middle Ages.
In pre-Christian times, the Germanic peoples celebrated the winter solstice at about the same time. Therefore, many dishes have retained their recipe, but acquired a new meaning and became a Christmas one.
Originally, traditional German pastries were gifts to pagan gods, who were placated with gingerbread, marzipan, and fruit pies.
And now baked goods are always present on the tables in the form of stollen, gingerbread and gingerbread houses.
It is popular in eastern Germany, which can be traced to the influence of the national gastronomic culture of its eastern neighbors.
Austria, Hungary
Alternatively, the Viennese schnitzel, which has found worldwide popularity, can be served.
And, of course, the pastries for which Austrian cuisine is famous. It can be classic, Linz tart, Sachertorte and others.
In Hungary, it is customary to serve traditional bagels for the festive table - poppy seeds and nut rolls.
Norway, Sweden, Finland
Let's take a look in the north of Europe, in the Scandinavian countries, and see how Christmas is celebrated in Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Christmas is also the main holiday of the year for them. Each of these countries has its own characteristics of the celebration of this event.
Finland is the place where the tale of Santa Claus comes true. After all, it is here, in Lapland, that the residence of Santa Claus (in Finnish - Yolupukki).
Christmas Eve goes on in much the same way as in other European countries: a church service, a meeting with relatives, a festive table.
The main Christmas dish in Finland is pork ham. For garnish - baked vegetables: potatoes, carrots, rutabagas. From cold appetizers, the Finns prefer - beet salad (an analogue of ours).
Milk rice porridge with almonds is always present on the table. It is believed that the one who gets it will be lucky and good health next year.
Many pastries are prepared, including traditional gingerbread cookies and plum jam puffs.
The traditional drink of the winter holidays is spicy gleg, which is very similar to mulled wine.
Norway also has a respectful attitude towards Christmas and touching traditions.
While preparing festive dishes, do not forget to leave a plate with treats for the Norwegian Santa Claus - Yuleniss, as well as feed the birds. The holiday is quiet and family-like.
Fish is a must on the festive table: a cod dish called lutefix and herring.
Pork ribs, roll and sausages. Garnish with mashed potatoes.
And for dessert - rice cream with a nut and 7 types of cookies.
In Sweden, there are now tendencies not to highlight the religious component of the holiday, Christmas for Swedes is a period of “seasonal congratulations”, an occasion to gather relatives and friends, exchange wishes and gifts.
As in all Scandinavian countries, fish dominates. For the Swedes, this is a fish casserole - "Jansson's Temptation". The filling of the Christmas table is traditional for the Scandinavian peoples - pork (ribs, ham, jellied meat); pickled herring and cod; sweet rice porridge, gingerbread cookies and saffron buns, which are baked here from the feast of Saint Lucia (December 13).
Russia
Russia occupies a vast area from the Baltic in the west to the Pacific in the east, and from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Needless to say, how diverse are the traditions and cuisine of the nationalities inhabiting the country?
For example, in the cuisine of northerners there are a lot of sea fish, rye pies, mushrooms. It is similar to Scandinavian cuisine. On the Don, they cook game, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, much of the cooking was taken over from the Turks. And in Siberia and the Urals - among the Tatars and Udmurts. phenomenally diverse!
Culinary traditions have undergone significant changes in the course of historical events. These are also Peter's reforms, when elements of Western European culture, everyday life, and culinary traditions were borrowed. Under Peter I - from Holland and Germany. And under Catherine II and Alexander I - France.
The Soviet era also shaped certain tastes and laid the culinary traditions of entire generations of the people.
And despite the fact that under Peter I the transition to the Gregorian calendar took place and a decree was issued to celebrate the New Year on January 1 and decorate the house with Christmas trees, it was in Soviet times that this holiday acquired a dominant role, supplanting Christmas.
Calendar New Year comes before Orthodox Christmas (January 7), so larger celebrations fall to its share.
New Year's table to match the scope of the holiday and the breadth of the Russian soul. The abundance of cold - from pickles (
For garnish - mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, vegetables. When it comes to dessert, it could be!
Tangerines and champagne are another symbol of the New Year!
Now imagine that this whole set can still be complemented by regional and family-style traditional food and drinks!
For people who are fasting at Christmas, “resisting” is a serious challenge.
But the more joyful is the meeting of Christmas and the Christmas meal!
A traditional Christmas dish is kutia, a wheat dish with honey, poppy seeds, raisins and nuts.
Since the time of Russia, pork dishes have always been served on the Christmas table: sausages, jellied meat and even a fried pig. In addition, other meat dishes were prepared: a goose with apples, a hare in sour cream, lamb.
An indispensable dish for Christmas, as well as for all holidays, was pies: open and closed, pies, pies, chicken pies, saikas, shangi, as well. Was washed down with mead and sbitn.
All kinds of gingerbread, candy, cookies, brushwood relied on the sweet table.
Many of these dishes are still being prepared today, perhaps not on such a grand scale ...
The common history of Russia with the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Eastern European countries professing Orthodoxy makes the traditions of celebrating Christmas and New Years, including culinary ones, similar.
Our gastronomic journey is coming to an end, although the list of countries and the study of their traditions is endless!
The history and traditions of the countries of the world, despite the regional characteristics, have a lot in common! New Year and Christmas are warm family holidays. The main thing is not what you put on the festive table, but who will gather at it to wish each other happiness, health and prosperity next year!
Christina Belko
Hello! My name is Kristina. When I was a little girl, I loved to look at my mother's cookbooks and sculpted plasticine dishes for my dolls. Now I myself am a mother of two kids and I really like to pamper them with various goodies. Searching for interesting recipes and sharing culinary tricks has become an exciting hobby for me. I draw inspiration from my family, books and walks around the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. I choose tasty and healthy food for my family. When cooking, I use simple and affordable ingredients, I often resort to using a double boiler. I love Russian cuisine, I think that this is a part of our history and culture. Also, our menu often includes dishes of national cuisines that have proven themselves all over the world. The recipes that I offer you are loved by my family and friends. I hope that you will like them too and to the table! I will be happy to answer your questions, accept comments and suggestions! Leave your comments on the site or email me [email protected] and @kristinabelko on Instagram.
Swedes love and know how to celebrate the New Year better than most other countries. New Year's holidays in this country last not for several days, but for a whole month.
Swedes start preparing for Christmas from the end of November, when Advent begins (the so-called waiting time for the coming of Christ), and the holiday mood continues until January 13, when most Swedes throw away the tree and remove the Christmas decor.
Therefore, it is not so important whether you got to this fabulous country for the celebration of Lucia Day (December 13) or will celebrate Catholic Christmas there, whether you will celebrate the New Year there or go on a trip already during school holidays - you will still find yourself in an atmosphere of magic and wonders ...
Both on weekdays and on weekends in December in Skansen - a park in the center of Stockholm, various events are held for children and adults: you can attend excursions and master classes, listen to fairy tales and watch theatrical performances, taste the treats of the Christmas table, ride children on ponies, grill sausages, make candles yourself, listen to the Christmas service at Seglora Church.
In addition to entertainment in Skansen, Stockholm offers many opportunities to enjoy Swedish Christmas.
Large fairs are held annually in the Old Town and on one of the central streets of the city of Drottninggatan. Here you can find handicrafts, all kinds of sweets, national souvenirs and Christmas trivia.
Music lovers can attend Christmas concerts. As always, skating rinks are open in Kungsträdgården and Vasaparken in winter.
Sweden is changing beyond recognition during the holidays. Garlands are lit on the streets, windows are decorated with stars and fluorescent paper snowflakes.
Yul Tomten (Swedish Christmas Dwarf) walks the streets, which only a hundred years ago replaced the Christmas goat, which until then brought gifts to all Swedish children. Sweet gingerbread houses are baked in the houses, and a collection of Advent candlesticks, angels and gnomes grows on the shelves.
Yul Tomten lives with her 100 elves, trolls, fairies and a funny witch in Tomteland - a tourist, artificially created place where you should definitely go in January if you like a program full of various events.
All these fabulous creatures live in their houses, where you can go and see everything, touch and photograph, and even learn magic and magic. Jul Tomten is also helped by deer, moose and other animals, which can also be seen in Tomteland.
If you are lucky enough to celebrate the New Year in Sweden, do not be alarmed by the noisy ringing at the front doors: this is how the Swedes beat old dishes on the gates and doors of houses.
The more broken shards you get, the more monetary profit and personal and family happiness there will be in the coming year.
It is considered a good custom to let jokers into your home and treat them to delicious pastries - this is how you “let happiness” into your home.
This country is famous for its love of fireworks. Even in the restaurant they can arrange a small fireworks display on a holiday, and on the main square, where the locals come out, you will be surprised by the outlandish heavenly lights in the form of figures.
Christmas in Sweden is very similar to our Russian "home" New Year, it is considered a family holiday. An elegant Christmas tree is set up in the center of the city, round-the-clock parties and discos begin. After a plentiful feast, people gather on the street and have fun with friends.
Taking champagne, by midnight they leave their houses on the square, where they wait for the striking of the clock (in Stockholm, the townspeople usually watch the clock on the observation deck of Katarinahissen).
Not many are having fun all night, most Swedes watch fireworks after midnight, wish each other a Merry Christmas and a Good New Year - "God Jul och Gott nytt år!" ("Gud yul o got nyut op!"), Give themselves promises for the next year and go home.
And the most energetic and active can go to the New Year's holiday in the Swedish mountains, in this northern country there are many excellent ski slopes. Of course, each resort has its own interesting New Year's program.
The Swedes love and really know how to cook deliciously. Be sure to try the local pastries, gingerbread cookies (pepparkakor) and saffron buns (lussekatter). The main course includes the Christmas ham and the “Janssons frestelse” fish casserole.
New Years in Sweden are adorable. Everything around seemed like a holiday postcard: numerous markets, decorated Christmas trees, snow-covered houses and trees, hundreds of lanterns and the general atmosphere of waiting for the holiday.
New Year's Eve in Sweden begins with Christmas markets, sales and colorful New Year-themed performances.
How is New Year celebrated in Stockholm?
In Sweden, this holiday is celebrated noisily, preferring large companies. Unlike Christmas, which Swedes celebrate with their families, they usually celebrate New Year with friends.
Traditionally, the main celebration is held at Skansen, Stockholm's open-air museum. A stage is set up there, musical events are organized, fireworks are arranged. All this action is broadcast on television.
There are a lot of people who want to celebrate the New Year in Skansen, so they begin to catch up to the celebration by nine o'clock in the evening.
New Year traditions and places of rest in Sweden
Even if the New Year is celebrated in a home circle, immediately after its onset, it is customary for the Swedes to go outside to take part in festive festivities.
The Swedish New Year is bright. On this night, lights are burning everywhere, lanterns and candles are lit, garlands are shining in each window.
The weather during New Year's holidays in Sweden is cool and snowy.
New Year's Eve Tours and New Years Celebration at Resorts in Sweden
What to do, where to celebrate and what to see in Stockholm on New Years?
1. You can celebrate the New Year in one of the restaurants. Here is the estimated cost of a celebratory dinner with drinks at the most popular places in Stockholm:
2. You can also visit any of the many clubs that are located around the main city square. By the way, there is a great chance to meet some local celebrity.
3. If you buy ready-made tours, here is the approximate price for five days of stay: 800 euros for an adult, 250 - for a child under five years old, 380 - for a child under 15 years old. In this case, the additional payment for the New Year's Eve dinner will be about 180-200 euros.
4. Fans of out-of-town recreation and winter sports can celebrate a holiday at one of the ski resorts - for example, Are or Selenium. There is guaranteed snow cover, high mountains, excellent equipment of resorts in general and tracks in particular. And on New Year's Eve, the resort owners arrange a holiday for their guests.
5. Sweden is one of those countries where you can perfectly celebrate the New Year, even without having a specific plan. Just go outside and join the folk festivities. The streets of Swedish cities on this night are filled with the light of New Year's lights, cheerful people, and a good mood.
6. If you like fabulous bustle, go to Tomteland, where a local Santa named Yultomten lives. There is always a rich festive program, focused primarily on tourists and families with children.
Excursions and other entertainment
Be sure to take a stroll through the Old Town, with its narrow streets and colorful houses: the atmosphere of old Europe takes on a special charm on the eve of the New Year.
Fans of urban sculpture in Stockholm have a real freedom: there are really many interesting examples of it. Also everywhere in the city - restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops. There are numerous fairs where you can buy Christmas gifts and national souvenirs.
On holidays, concerts are held in the Cathedral. Also, there are open skating rinks in the Vasaparken and Kungsträdgården parks.
And here are some ideas for winter tours:
What to see with children in Stockholm?
Take a walk along Gamla-Stan - it is there that the red house with a chimney is located, where Carlson once lived (in any case, the writer herself pointed to this house). It is located just opposite the monument to St. George.
In the same place, in the Old Town, watch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace - a very beautiful sight that awaits you at exactly noon.
You can visit one of the skating rinks in city parks and arrange family skating.
Be sure to take your child to the Junibacken Children's Center for Christmas-themed performances throughout December.
Try to find a time to visit Tomtelland, near Stockholm. There, the child will visit the Snow Queen's castle, the home of the gnome storyteller and the real home of the trolls. And nearby, in Orsa Grenklitt, is the famous bear park, which is also home to lynxes, tigers, wolverines and wolves.
Take a look at the Vasa Museum: this is a ship that sank and then was raised to the surface.
From the center of Stockholm there are buses to Tom Tits Experiment - the children's "house of discovery". There, the child will take part in fun experiments and learn a lot of fascinating things about science and technology.
Sweden offers many options for settling during the New Year holidays. If you want to rent a cottage for a large company, it will cost 1200-1500 euros per week.
Accommodation in a Stockholm hotel can be found in the price range of 80-130 euros per night. The cost of living in an apartment starts from 100 euros per night. And the prices for accommodation in hostels during the New Year holidays are 40-90 euros per night.
What must be done in Sweden during the New Years?
- Taste gingerbread cookies and saffron buns, and if possible, even participate in their preparation.
- Taste the specialty Swedish casserole, mulled wine and Christmas ham.
- Watch the fireworks on the main square of Stockholm
- Go to Tomteland and spend half a day in a fairy tale
Conclusion
The Scandinavian New Year is truly fabulous. It combines colossal natural energy, the flavor of ancient European cities and the cheerfulness of local residents who love and know how to arrange fantastic holidays.
Scandinavia in general and Sweden in particular - this is the New Year's choice of people who want to celebrate the holiday in an unforgettable snow extravaganza.
Swedes prefer to celebrate the New Year with friends. And despite the frost, they raise their glasses of champagne on the street, admiring the sky lit by fireworks.
New year with friends
Midnight, New Years Eve. Here is a usual show for Sweden: shivering from the cold and chattering teeth, knee-deep in snow, the Swedes wish each other a Happy New Year to the accompaniment of fireworks. Here they gladly adopted the European tradition of celebrating the New Year on the street - but as always in such cases, the Swedes have to reckon with the local peculiarities. For example, with the climate.
Having celebrated Christmas with their family, with spouses, children and relatives, Swedes prefer to spend New Year's Eve with friends. Nobody has anything against old-fashioned family Christmas traditions. But the celebration of the New Year should be modern and bright. On the eve of New Year's Eve, out of breath shoppers run through the markets and shops, hunting for the latest lobsters and oysters.
New Year's promises
In the kitchen, the owners are busy with sauces and candied orange fruits, and festive tablecloths and the most luxurious sets and candlesticks are laid on the table. All happily dress up in everything new and try not to notice the cold and icy wind outside the windows. Thin tights and high-heeled shoes are not a winter outfit.
The main topic of conversation at dinner is everything that happened in the old year, and what the coming year has in store for you. The coming year, of course, will only get better! When the clock strikes midnight, everyone makes New Year's promises to themselves: quit smoking, lose weight, start exercising, or make more money. As a rule, these promises are kept - well, or at least a week or two from the beginning of the year.
Swedish New Year - the origins of the celebration
According to the Roman calendar, the Swedish New Year begins on January 1st. In the preindustrial society, the first day of the New Year was part of the Christmas tradition. Unlike Christmas, it was a youth holiday. The New Year was greeted cheerfully, and food and drinks were plentiful. Seeing off the old year, the youth made a noise: they fired guns, shouted and had fun.
New Year's Eve was considered a magical time, it was a time of fortune-telling and predictions of the future. Here is one of the old New Year's fortune-telling: the tin was melted over a fire and thrown into cold water, according to the outlines of the resulting figure, they predicted the future. Throwing shoes on the floor also wondered. If the sock points to the door, it means that next year you will move, or even die.
It was believed that what the first day of the New Year will be, so will the whole coming year. Therefore, it was important not to take anything out of the house, which would mean throwing happiness out of the house for the whole year. If the sun was shining on the first day of the new year, it was believed that the year would be good.
Since 1893, when the Swedes began to celebrate the New Year at the Skansen Museum in Stockholm, at midnight all churches in the country have been greeting the New Year by ringing their bells.
New Year's poems and fireworks
Like many other Swedish holidays, New Year is associated with traditional TV shows that are repeated from year to year.
Live streaming from Skansen, Stockolm's famous open-air museum, is one such New Year's tradition. The Swedes see off the outgoing year to the sound of bells. The presenter reads Lord Tennyson's New Year's poem on the screen. Celebrating in front of the TV in the living room, of course, has its own charm and sense of tradition.
Many, however, prefer a frosty New Year's Eve. Not everyone, of course, is lucky to live in the city center with a panoramic view from the window. Therefore, funny companies often go to crowded places to launch their rockets and admire the fireworks of others.
And then the Swedes, wrapped from head to toe, stand and bewitched - against the backdrop of the city silhouette or age-old pines - admire the flashes of fireworks in the dark sky.
Sweden… Carlson and Pippi Longstocking live here, Nobel Prizes are awarded, Volvo cars are produced and groups such as ABBA are born. The capital Stockholm is located on 14 islands and has the largest number of museums and attractions among other Scandinavian countries. This is where we will go to celebrate the New Year - in a real winter fairy tale.
For the Swedes, as well as for the whole of Europe, Christmas is of greater importance, they give it a mysterious meaning. Therefore, preparation for the great holiday begins long before its onset, at the end of November, when Advent begins - the so-called coming of Christ.
On December 24, on the eve of the holy holiday, the Swedes prepare for a festive dinner, set the table, and pack gifts.
Christmas is a family holiday, so there are practically no people on the streets at this time, and all shops are closed. The Christmas buffet can be called rather modest, peasant. The main thing is to have a lot of hearty food. It's on New Year residents of Sweden indulge in culinary delights.
The Swedes also have one who is responsible for the winter holiday - the cute dwarf Yultomten. He lives near the town of Mora in his residence Tomteland. The place, created especially for tourists, is replete with entertainment, and little guests will definitely enjoy it. For good behavior, Yultomten brings gifts to Swedish children, leaving them under the spruce.
The main festive festivities take place in Stockholm on the main square of the city - a tradition of this for more than a hundred years.
There is a festive fair here throughout December, where you can buy handicrafts, all kinds of sweets, national souvenirs and just nice trinkets.
All the New Year's holidays, the fun on the square does not subside: here you can attend master classes, listen to Scandinavian fairy tales and watch theatrical performances, try the local cuisine. The city hosts festive concerts, open in winter and skating rinks in Kungsträdgården Park and Vasaparken Park.
If you want to see more than just Stockholm, head to the small town of Sigtuna, which is one of the first cities in Sweden and has retained its original medieval appearance. Or in the town of Gavle - exactly there, on the main square, on the first day after the onset of Christmas, residents burn a straw goat 13 meters high. This tradition has been around for about 50 years.
For almost two months, Swedes have been celebrating winter holidays, so if you decide to celebrate the New Year in Sweden, get ready for noisy festivities and vivid impressions.