Christmas in Sweden is very beautiful. If travelers by chance plan their trip during Christmas celebrations at Sweden , then they will be witness to one of the most exotic Christmas festivities of Europe. Christmas in Sweden starts with the ceremony of Saint Lucia. The date of Saint Lucia jubilations is on the 13th of December. Traditional Swedish families begin celebrating Christmas in Sweden from this day onwards.
On the morning of Saint Lucia the youngest daughter of every family wears a white dress with a red sash and evergreen crown with candles fitted on to it. The girl wakes up her parents and treats them with coffee and Lucia buns. Other children of the family accompany her in the entire process. If there are little boys in the family they are dressed as star boys in white shirts and given pointed hats to wear on head. The Saint Lucia day is celebrated as a traditional thanksgiving for the return of Sun.
At home the mothers in the family are entitled with work of lighting up candles in and around the house on Christmas eve. Christmas trees are very important in Swedish Christmas. Every house is adorned with a lush green Christmas tree two days before Christmas. The Christmas tree is decorated with flags, apples, candles, little gnomes with red tasseled caps, straw ornaments and flowers.
Christmas Eve dinner is the most awaited part of Christmas in Sweden. The bill of fare includes a special rice porridge, Christmas ham , smorgasbord, and a lot more. An almond remains hidden in the rice porridge. It is believed that The person who finds it will get married in the coming year. Gingerbread biscuits are prepared in all houses. Red tulips for decoration of the house and smell of ginger biscuits fill the Swedish homes. Like Santa Claus the Swedes have a mythical figure called the Tomte who is supposedly said to live in barns or floorboards and ride on a straw goat. This Christmas gnome is dressed in red robe and gives gifts. After the dinner of Christmas eve one of the family members dress up as Tomte and distribute presents.
Christmas in Sweden also have some special features like the Jultomten who helps Tomte to give away the gifts. He is a sweet little brownie very popular with the kids. Christmas elves and julbok the Christmas goat is welcomed by all the Swedes in Christmas in Sweden by eating lye treated codfish. Christmas in Sweden begins with the lighting up of Churches with candles on the Christmas morning.
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