|
|
Twelfth
Night and Knut |
Trettonhelg
och Tjugondag Knut
|
|
|
|
Twelfth
Night or Epiphany, the 6th-7th of January, is celebrated in many
homes as an extension of the Christmas festivities, in terms of
food at any rate. Children are still on holiday from school,
and many parents take a holiday up until this day, too. In
olden days it was customary to put on a Twelfth Night pageant,
telling the Christmas story, or for groups of white-clad boys (as
described under "Lucia") to go the rounds of the
village. These traditions live on in only a very few
communities today.
|
|
|
|
One
week after Twelfth Night the Swedish calendar celebrates the name
Knut. Prior to a seventeenth century calendar reform Knut
was celebrated on Twelfth Night and marked the end of the holiday
season. As a result of the reform Knut was moved forward one
week, and since Swedes were accustomed to ending their Christmas
holidays on Knut's day, they simply continued celebrating an extra
week.
|
|
|
|
This
is the day people finally part with their Christmas trees - if
they haven't already done so. All the decorations are first
removed, and the act is often the occasion for a final party -
this one especially for the children. Friends and classmates
are invited over to eat cakes and candies, play games and
"plunder" the tree. All the small trinkets are
carefully removed and stored away, while edible ornaments - ginger
biscuits, caramels, and the like - are gobbled up. Finally,
the group pick up the tree and literally toss it out of the house
or flat, singing a song that, in translation, goes something like
this:
|
|
|
|
Christmas
has come to an end,
And the tree must go.
But next year once again
We shall see our dear old friend,
For he has promised us so.
|
|
|
|
In
the past Knut was also an occasion for masquerading. Men and
boys dressed up as "Old Knut" would prowl about, playing
practical jokes and doing mischief. In some parts of the
country - particularly where immigrant Walloons settled in the
seventeenth century - Knut is the occasion for regular carnivals,
especially in the province of Uppland just north of Stockholm.
|
|
|
|
Source:
"Traditional Festivities in Sweden"; Author: Ingemar
Liman; Published by: The Swedish Institute, ISBN 91-520-0113-X
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
