New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year. New Year's is celebrated on the night between December 31, i.e. New Year's Eve and January 1 according to the Gregorian calendar. New Year's Day is a very popular holiday. It is celebrated with fireworks, New Year's food and New Year's parties. We have made New Year's resolutions ever since the Viking Age. At this time the vow was made by either emptying a brage cup or swearing by a boar's horn. These days it's a bit more mundane, but many see New Year's Day and the associated New Year's resolutions as a chance to start anew. New Year's food is not quite as elaborate as other festive food, but is more generally associated with luxury. For example, we can see artichoke soup, Skagen toast, chocolate mousse and lobster on the New Year's table that we eat on New Year's Eve. The fireworks that are set off at 12 o'clock and beyond are traditionally to scare away evil spirits. Many traditions are very strongly linked to family or religion. However, New Year's Day and the entire New Year's celebration are more public. You usually share New Year's Day and its celebration with your friends. It is also an old tradition to ring in the new year, usually through some kind of joint public event where you count down to New Year's Day. 

 

Epiphany

This day falls on January 6th. Thirteenth day of Christmas is a holiday in Sweden. This day is important for Christians in Sweden and is celebrated to commemorate the revelation of Jesus, when the three wise men visited him in Bethlehem after his birth. The star boys traditionally associated with Lucia appeared from the beginning at the celebration of the thirteenth day of Christmas. In Sweden, these star boys wandered in the villages and actors around biblical stories about the three wise men and their journey to Bethlehem. This train could consist of three star boys, a Herod and a Christmas goat who made aggressive outbursts if he was not happy with the reward / offerings. This was seen as a playful and accepted form of begging. It was common for students in Latin schools to participate in the theater and use the income to pay for their living expenses during the Christmas holidays.