Knut's party

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Knut's party
St. Knut's Day

A Knut's party or Knut's dance (

St. Knut's Day (13 January), which marks the end of the Christmas and holiday season, which includes Advent Sunday, Saint Lucy's Day, Christmas, New Year and Epiphany. It is also known as "Dancing out Christmas" (dansa ut julen) or "Throw out the Tree" (kasta ut granen).[1][2]

Origin

Traditionally since the 17th century, Christmas ends on the 20th day after Christmas in Sweden.

balls and the Swedish word for the gatherings, gille, may have influenced the tradition of the feasting since it also means "party".[2]

It is mentioned in the Old Farmer's Almanac that "King Knut asked them for help to drive out Christmas". In the old Swedish agrarian society, children would run from farm to farm to "call out Christmas" (ropa ut julen), that is call out that Christmas had ended and beg for food and drink.[2]

The present day tradition has changed very little since the 1870s.[4] During the 20th century, the Knut's party became mainly associated with children and candy. The observance of the feast peaked during 1950–70.[2]

Party

A Swedish "fishing pond" for children is used on many occasions, here on Midsummer's eve.

In private homes, there is often a party mainly for children. The Christmas decorations are then put aside. Such parties are also common in schools, kindergartens, churches and other places. In many towns, the illumination of the public Christmas tree is switched off, accompanied by an outdoor Knut's dance for the community.[5] In some areas the feast is known as Julgransskakning ("Shaking the Christmas tree").[6]

Party activities involve singing and dancing around the

Christmas and Midsummer, and some songs with verses about the end of Christmas, such as Raska fötter springa tripp, tripp, tripp, may especially emphasize such verses.[1][7][8]

"Throwing out" the tree

During the 20th century, Christmas trees were literally thrown out of the window or from the balcony, onto the street once they had been "plundered" and stripped of all ornaments.[9] Since the beginning of the 21st century, areas for dumping the trees are designated by local authorities but in 2015, spontaneous and illegal dumping grounds were still a problem.[10] Volunteers from sport clubs and other organizations such as Lions Clubs International also help collect the discarded trees. These can be recycled for heating or used in bonfires at Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) later in spring.[11][12][13] Failure to dispose of the tree in a manner designated by the authorities can result in a fine or a sentence of up to one year in prison.[11]

Since the late 1980s, artificial Christmas trees have replaced a portion of the natural trees and thus eliminated the need to dispose of the tree. These are simply disassembled and put into storage after the Knut's party.[14]

A number of trees are as of 2012 disposed around Twelfth Night, almost a week before St. Knut's Day.[15]

References in popular culture

Christmas crackers are common during Knut's parties.

References

  1. ^ a b "Dansa ut julen med Nordiska museet" [Dance out Christmas with the Nordic Museum]. www.nordiskamuseet.se. Nordic Museum. Retrieved 10 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e "Tjugondag Knut" [St. Knut's Day]. www.nordiskamuseet.se. Nordic Museum. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  3. SELIBR 8549235
    .
  4. ^ "Julgransplundring" [Christmas tree plundering] (in Swedish). Fira jul. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Julgransplundring: Rocking around the Christmas Tree". Your Living City. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Årsmöte 2009". www.sverigestomtegille.se. Sveriges Tomtegille. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. ^ Delgado, Rebecca (22 December 2015). "Julgransplundring – en guide" [Christmas tree plundering – a guide]. www.kalasdags.se. Kalasdags. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  8. ICA AB
    . Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Taras julgransskola" [Tara's Christmas tree school]. www.tara.se. Tara Magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  10. ^ Martinsson, Karl (16 February 2015). "Här tog glada julen slut" [This is where the happy Christmas ended]. www.mitti.se. Mitt I Kungsholmen. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b Ivarsson, Dan (3 January 2007). "Konsten att kasta en julgran" [The art of throwing out a Christmas tree]. www.sydsvenskan.se. Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  12. ^ Julin, Johan (5 January 2016). "Så återvinner du barrande granen bäst" [How to best recycle the shredding tree]. SVT Nyheter. Sveriges Television. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Majbrasa på Strandplan kl 18.00!" [May bonfire at Starndsgatan at 18!]. www.haparanda.se. Haparanda Municipality. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Plastgran – Bra för allergiker" [Plastic fir – good for those suffering from allergies]. www.expressen.se. Expressen. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  15. ^ Hedlund, Lillan (6 January 2012). "Dags att kasta ut granen" [Time to throw out the tree]. www.lt.se. Länstidningen Södertälje. Retrieved 10 January 2016.