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Sweden Festivals and Events
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Easter
Sweden,
Next to Christmas and Midsummer, Easter is the most important festival
of the year. In the old days, it was thought that, during this period,
all witches went away to see the devil and the place where they
met was called Blεkulla. If you spend Easter in Sweden, you will
see allusions to this belief in the papers and on TV.
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Midsummer's eve
Sweden,
Midsummer's eve is probably the most popular festival day in Sweden,
together with Christmas. Midsummer is an old pagan celebration,
dating back to the Viking Era. It was a fertility rite originally,
where the May pole was a phallic symbol, "impregnating" Mother nature.
It was hoped that this would help to give a good harvest in the
autumn. In modern times, it is a national holiday, where family
and friends meet, eat herring and fresh potatoes and drink schnapps
and beer. The actual day of the celebration is also the longest
day of the year (summer solstice), signifying that summer has reached
the half-way point.
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Walpurgis Night
Sweden,
The celebration of Walpurgis dates back to the Viking Era. It was
a festival to honour the return of Spring, and is only one of the
several pagan festivals still celebrated in Sweden.
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Advent
Sweden, 27th November, 2000
Advent is the period of four weeks immediately preceding Christmas.
Each Sunday during this period a new candle is lit in a special
Advent candlestick. This means that, on the fourth Sunday, there
are four candles burning, and Christmas is about to begin.
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Lucia
Sweden, 13th December, 2000
Lucia is a festival that occurs on December 13, or also known as Lucia
Day. Lucia is a young girl, who wears a white garment and with a Lucia
crown with candle on her head. The Lucia tradition is based on the
legend of a pious Sicilian girl who wanted to devote her life to God
instead of marrying. When she refused the proposal of a nobleman she
was killed, and subsequently she became a martyr.
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Christmas
Sweden, 25th December, 2000
Christmas is a special day when Christians celebrates the feast
of Christ (Jesus's birthday). It is celebrated with such a joyous
attitude. On Christmas Day a lot of Swedens get up early to attend
a special church service at six or seven, which is called julottan
(literally: Christmas-early-in the-morning).
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