Halloween the Swedish way
Pumpkins flicker and sweets-craving children roam the streets. Itâs Halloween in Sweden!
Halloween in Sweden
In Sweden, Halloween has grown rapidly since the late 1980s. Itâs now a major highlight of the year for many children and teenagers, especially the thrill of trick-or-treating.
Halloween is 'officially' observed on 31 October. In practice, however, trick-or-treating may take place on a more convenient day before or after Halloween, especially when 31 October falls on a weekday.
On that night, children in costumes go door-to-door, calling out âbus eller godisâ (âtrick or treatâ) and collecting sweets from welcoming neighbours â the ritual that truly defines the holiday for young Swedes.
Halloween is also well timed with the schoolsâ autumn break and represents a welcome diversion in the gathering autumnal darkness.
Costumes and pumpkins
Fancy-dress and ghost-themed parties are also popular among children and teenagers, who light lanterns and parade through their neighbourhoods with spooky enthusiasm. Â
Many pubs and restaurants join in, decorating their spaces with eerie decorations and hosting Halloween-themed events. Â
On the Swedish island of Ăland â in the Baltic Sea â Halloween and its associated pumpkin carving has even sparked a boom in pumpkin growing. Today, pumpkins â both giant and small â are readily available, helping to make the season bright, fun and a little bit scary.Â
Carving pumpkins is a given at Halloween. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
It's all about the sweets. Photo: Lieselotte van der Meijs/imagebank.sweden.se
This is the one night of the year, when zombies might fail to scare people. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
Carving pumpkins is a given at Halloween. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
It's all about the sweets. Photo: Lieselotte van der Meijs/imagebank.sweden.se
This is the one night of the year, when zombies might fail to scare people. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
Carving pumpkins is a given at Halloween. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
It's all about the sweets. Photo: Lieselotte van der Meijs/imagebank.sweden.se
This is the one night of the year, when zombies might fail to scare people. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
How Halloween came to Sweden
The first Halloween celebrations in Sweden took place in the 1950s, courtesy of some American exchange students who brought this tradition with them. This is according to Nordiska Museet, Sweden's largest museum of cultural history.
It took until the late 1980s and early 1990s for Halloween to become established in the country.
The origins of Halloween
Halloween traces its roots back to Samhain, a Celtic harvest festival marking the end of summer and the beginning of winter.
Later, it became intertwined with Christian traditions. In the 1840s, Halloween was imported into the United States by Irish immigrants and became a popular celebration there.
