The Christmas season in Stockholm, which begins on November 12, is a mash-up of traditions. An array of over a million LED lights, shaped like angels, mistletoe, and reindeer, illuminate Stockholm in a unique way. The Nordiska Kompaniet department store offers a breathtaking Christmas display each year. Stortorget (a public square) is home to a Christmas market where you can get candles, decorations, and sweets. Restaurants in Stockholm provide traditional holiday dishes such as meatballs, kale, Christmas ham, and mulled wine (“glögg”). The city also puts on concerts and stage performances to promote the holiday spirit.
Christmas Traditions in Stockholm
Christmas Markets
Stockholm is home to a number of Christmas markets, the oldest of which is at Gamla Stan. Smoked reindeer, elk, glögg (mulled wine), and other Swedish favorites are available at these markets, along with various crafts. Skansen, Drottningholm, and Kungsträgården are three more renowned marketplaces. Unique Swedish specialties and a variety of handicrafts are found in Gamla Stan’s market. The whole event is held in Stortorget Square, in the heart of Gamla Stan, Sweden.
Skeppsbron Christmas Tree
At an astounding 125 feet in height, the Skeppsbron Tree is supposedly the biggest genuine Christmas tree on the planet. At its peak, there is a 13-foot star, and it is decorated with 5,000 lights on its branches. Standing proudly on the Skeppsbron shoreline, this enormous Christmas tree guards the perimeter of Old Town in Stockholm, and it is inspired by the one at Rockefeller Plaza in New York.
Julbord
The traditional Swedish Christmas feast known as julbord includes meatballs, sausages, cheese, and a Christmas ham among its many courses. On every Julbord, you can’t miss the marzipan pig. This is a Scandinavian Christmas feast, and it usually runs from the end of November to around Christmastime and takes place in restaurants, hotels, and other unusual locations. Drinks like glögg (Swedish mulled wine), snaps, and julöl (a dark, sweetish beer produced for Christmas) are common parts of the ritual.
Lucia
Lucia is a well-known Swedish custom that is celebrated every year on December 13 in Stockholm. Girls and boys sing the Lucia hymn in a choir while dressed in white, with candles placed on top of their heads. They sing their songs in traditional saffron buns and drink glögg as part of the custom. They also carry candles in their hands. The custom has its roots in the Swedish tale of Lucia as Adam’s first wife and in the life of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, a martyr who died in 304. The tradition was established in Stockholm in the 1920s.
