Ah, Knut’s Day, January 13 – the day Swedes bid their Christmas trees farewell with the tradition of julgransplundring (“Christmas tree plundering”). Think of it as a Viking-inspired send-off for a Christmas tree, minus the longboat and flaming arrows.
On this day, Swedes remove all the decorations and ornaments from their Christmas trees. But to participate in a julgransplundring is more than just saying goodbye to the tree. If you’re lucky enough to attend one, it’s a festive gathering where people eat tons of sweets, sing songs, and dance around the tree one last time. That’s right, the tree gets a farewell dance party.
I have attended a few of these plundering events myself, and they’re quite the spectacle. Lots of food and songs and dancing around the tree. It’s like a second Christmas, but with fewer gifts.
Of course, not everyone in Sweden participates in this traditional event. I admit, when we lived by a forest, I fully embraced a somewhat different tradition of launching our Christmas tree off the balcony every year into the woods below. I liked to pretend I was competing in some sort of strong-man, tree-throwing competition. It was oddly satisfying to see the tree tumbling into the snowy abyss, ready to return to nature. But now that I’m older and wiser, I would never recommend this (publicly).
These days, we’ve bought into environmental option of re-using an artificial tree each year. (Ok, maybe I didn’t do it for the environment, but because I’m tired of cleaning up pine needles from my floor.) So on Knut’s Day, our tree simply retreats to the storage room waiting patiently for its encore next December. No dancing and singing around the tree, though we still participate in the part where we eat a ton of sweets.
So, here’s to Knut’s Day – a celebration of endings, new beginnings, and the occasional airborne Christmas tree. Whether you’re dancing around a real tree or just sipping glögg while glaring at your still-decorated one, may your plundering be merry, your tree disposal be drama-free, and your January 13th be delightfully Swedish.