Enjoying Knut's Day

Our family celebrates Knut's Day. -- because it is fun!

Knut's Day is a holiday celebrated in Sweden, Finland and Norway on the 20th day after Christmas and marks the final day of the Christmas Holiday season. It was more popular in the past but we still love the idea.

Taking down the tree is kind of a sad ending to a happy season. I knew of the tradition of Knut's Day from my Swedish father. I don't think he ever celebrated it himself but he certainly was aware of the holiday. Mainly my Dad was all about the music so I think he learned the traditional song for Knut's Day.

When the kids were little we had a few New Years when we took down the tree and it turned into kind of a sad day for the kids and me too. We talked about waiting to take the tree down on 12th night or Epiphany but we decided to embrace the Swedish Holiday Season of starting with Lucia Day and ending with Knut's Day on January 13th.

Basically this holiday is the day when Christmas is to be removed from the house. In Sweden the tree would have been covered with a bunch of edible decorations and on this day the children get to plunder the tree and eat the goodies and smash the gingerbread houses. They might even visit neighbours looking for treats, kind of like Halloween. The Christmas alcohol was to be consumed and Christmas baking and other Christmas foods were to be eaten in a bit of a party.  The family would sing a traditional song and dance around the tree. In one strange but happy action the tree was carried and thrown out the window!

In a few parts of Sweden the evening came and neighbours carried the old trees to a central area for a community bonfire. Music and fun brings the Christmas Season to an end.

My little version is to take off most of the breakable ornaments from our tree and replace them with some candy and edible ornaments like candy canes and foil covered chocolate ornaments. My Grandkids can go at it! We also enjoy a somewhat Swedish meal--- Thank-you IKEA for your meatballs! lol

The last of the decorations are taken off and the lights are removed and then we do indeed throw the tree out -- but we use our door.  In a couple days we haul it off to a community recycling depot where people can trade their trees for woodchips. The trees are ground up and used for landscaping and making trails in our city's parks.

 Christmas season is over and we are left with many great memories. The last verse of the old traditional song for Knut's Day kind of says it all. The tree and other symbols of Christmas leave our homes but we know that Christmas will come again next year.

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.

Click here for more of the Swedish and English lyrics