the thirteenth day, or the thirteenth dayor Epiphany as it is sometimes referred to in English, is the thirteenth day after Christmas Eve, the day when Swedes celebrate Christmas. Unlike most Swedish holidays such as Midsummer’s Eve (Midsummer Eve), Easter (Holy Saturday) and Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve), the thirteenth day holiday is celebrated on the actual day, rather than the night before on Epiphany.
As a Christian holiday, it marks the day the three wise men met baby Jesus and gave him the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and therefore the day God’s son arrived on earth. In Denmark and Norway, the day is still referred to as Epiphanyor “day of the three holy kings”.
Unlike the Twelfth Night or the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which is considered to be the last official day of Christmas in many Christian countries, the official final day of Christmas in Sweden falls on the twentieth day after Christmas, January 13th or twentieth day Knut. So, you can keep your decorations up for a while yet.
In Småland, the thirteenth day is sometimes referred to as Father’s Day or Angel Friday(literally: “angel travel day”), as it was previously believed that the dead returned home the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, returning to their graves on January 6th.
How is it celebrated in Sweden?
In modern Sweden, most people don’t do anything in particular to celebrate the thirteenth dayother than perhaps taking down their Christmas decorations (although as mentioned above, many people do this on January 13th instead). It’s a day off for many, and state-run alcohol chain Systembolaget is closed.
In the Swedish Church, the thirteenth day is a day for raising funds for various charitable campaigns elsewhere in the world, such as this year’s campaign to end child marriage, female genital mutilation and gender-based violence.
The Swedish Church will often hold services on the thirteenth day or Epiphany. If you’re interested, you can find out what services churches in your parish will be holding here. Just type in your address, then look for Thirteenth weekend to see what’s on.
How did Swedes celebrate in the past?
Traditionally in Sweden, the day was marked by boys and young men walking from town to town telling the story of the three wise men. These young men were known as star boys (literally: star boys), a precursor to the star boys you still see at Saint Lucia celebrations in modern Sweden.
This star boy train (star boy procession) would include the three wise men, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, who represented Europe, Africa and Asia, wearing pointy hats and white shirts, alongside King Herod, who Mary and Joseph were fleeing from (and the reason Jesus was born in a stable), Herod’s servants and a yuletide (Christmas goat).
These storytellers would occasionally be given presents or money, and taking part in a star boy train was often a way for poor boys and men to earn some money, or even be given something alcoholic to drink.
The yuletide‘s role was to collect these gifts or money, and it could even have a funnel hanging from its jaw which would lead to a container to collect any snaps gifted to the procession.
This star boy train still exists in some parts of Sweden, such as on the islands in the Stockholm archipelago.