Church Services During the Holidays 2012/13

There are many churches offering services in several languages during the holiday season. The main denominations are Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and Catholicism. Here are the mass times that can be of interest:

Storkyrkan (Lutheran)- located in Gamla Stan.
-December 24th: Christmas music & prayer at 4:30pm. Midnight mass at 11:00pm. Both in Swedish.
-December 25th: High mass at 11am in Swedish.
-January 1st: High mass at 11am in Swedish.

St Jacob's Church (Lutheran)- located next to Kungsträdgården.
-December 24th: Christmas pageant and music at 11am.
-December 25th: Worship in English at 6pm (also every Sunday at 6pm).

Katolska Domkyrkan (Catholic)- located on Södermalm. Main Catholic Church in Sweden.
-December 24th: Christmas service in Italian at 9pm, Croatian at 10pm and midnight mass (Latin?).
-December 25th: Italian at 8:45am, High Mass at 11am (Latin?), Spanish at 2pm, Polish at 5pm and Swedish at 6:30pm.
-December 31st: Thanksgiving mass with "Te Deum" at 5pm.
-January 1st: High Mass at 11am (Latin?), Croatian at 12:30pm, Spanish at 2pm and Swedish at 6:30pm.

St Eugenia (Catholic)- located next to Kungsträdgården. Mass in English every Sunday at 6pm.
-December 24th: Christmas prayer at 7:30pm, midnight mass in Swedish at 10pm and in English at 11:59pm.
-December 25th: High mass at 11am (Latin?), mass in English at 6pm.
-January 1st: High mass at 11am (Latin?), mass in English at 6pm.

These churches do have more services than I have listed and there are, of course, many more churches in Stockholm! If you are staying at the Rival Hotel and interested in other churches or dates, contact me directly. Looking for temple services (Judaism)? Click here for information in English for the Jewish Congregation in Stockholm, or click here for an earlier blog entry about the Great Synagogue, Jewish Museum and more.

St Lucia Day Celebrations

Photo by Henrik Trygg, Stockholm Visitors Board

Lucia, the festival/celebration of St Lucia, happens on December 13th and is, along with Midsummer, the most Swedish of holidays and most people have seen a picture at sometime of a young girl wearing a wreath of candles (Lucia). Basically, the celebration consists of a procession led by a candle wreathed young woman and followed by other young women (& men called stjärngossar) holding candles. Click here for video ("Lucia for Dummies"). They sing both Lucia songs as well as other Christmas carols. The traditional places where this procession happens is in Swedish homes on the morning of the 13th, where the procession is made up of the family's children, and in the evening at churches. Though these days you will find Lucia processions at different businesses, shopping malls and retirement centers throughout the country. Because of the popularity of Lucia, you need to purchase tickets to see the procession in most churches. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, stop by and I will help you with tickets.

Lucia at Skansen www.sverigeslucia.se 

These church services, while traditional and beautiful, might be a little problematic for foreign visitors as there is a church sermon included in the celebration which is in Swedish. Another option, and a good one at that, is to visit Skansen, the open-air museum dedicated to Swedish culture and traditions. Here they will be celebrating Lucia for four days (Dec 13th to the 16th) with processions, historical reenactments and concerts. Click here for the schedule of events. Skansen also has a great Christmas market on Saturday and Sunday which you can combine with a Lucia concert this weekend. Skansen is located on the island of Djurgården and easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... with regular ferries (10 min trip) going from nearby Slussen.

Christmas Church Services 2011

(EDIT: This is information from 2011, for current info... click here!) There are many churches offering services in several languages during the Christmas weekend. The main denominations are Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and Catholicism. Here are the mass times that can be of interest:

Storkyrkan (Lutheran)- located in Gamla Stan.
-December 24th: Christmas prayer at 5pm and midnight mass at 11pm. Both in Swedish. They will be playing Christmas music at 4:30pm.
-December 25th: High Mass at 11am in Swedish.
-December 26th: High Mass at 11am in Swedish.

St Jacob's Church (Lutheran)- located next to Kungsträdgården.
-December 24th: Christmas prayer in Estonian at 2pm and Worship in English at 6pm.

Katolska Domkyrkan (Catholic)- located on Södermalm.
-December 24th: Christmas service in Italian at 9pm and in Croatian at 10pm. Midnight Mass (Swedish/Latin ?).
-December 25th: Mass in Italian at 8:45am, High Mass at 11am, in Spanish at 2pm, in Polish at 5pm and in Swedish at 6:30pm.
-December 25th: Mass in Swedish at 09:45am and in Croatian at 11am.

St Eugenia (Catholic)- located next to Kungsträdgården.
-December 24th: Christmas prayer in Swedish at 8pm, mass in Swedish at 10pm and midnight mass (12am)in English.
-December 25th: High Mass in Swedish at 11am and Christmas Mass in English at 6pm.

Trettondedag Jul (Epiphany)

And so 2011 is here! I don't know about you, but the holidays have me exhausted! And just when you thought they were over... here comes one last day in the holiday season. Tomorrow, January 6th, is a bank holiday here in Sweden called Trettondedag Jul ("thirteenth day of Christmas") or Epiphany as it is called in English. Most Swedes don't view this as a religious holiday, more as a day off of work to rest after the holidays and perhaps take down the Christmas decorations.

As a visitor to Stockholm you shouldn't be too bothered by this bank holiday... the vast majority of museums and tours are open for business. Most retail stores are open with shorter hours, though the NK Department Store is closed. Banks and liquor stores (Systembolaget) will be closed and some pharmacies will be closed while others will have shorter opening hours. Some restaurants treat this as a Sunday and will be closed... but the majority are open. For many of the high-end restaurants that were closed for several weeks during the holidays, this weekend either marks when they reopen or the last days before they reopen on Monday.

St Eugenia Catholic Church will be having a mass in English at 6pm and the main Catholic Church, Katolska Domkyrkan, will be having masses in different languages (Swedish, Polish, Spanish, etc;) during the day.

Christmas Mass in Stockholm 2010

EDIT: These times are from 2010. For 2011, click here!
Almost all churches (of all denominations) have some type Christmas Mass this weekend. Close to the Rival Hotel we have two churches one Lutheran and one Catholic. The Lutheran churches will have services almost exclisively in Swedish, while the Catholic churches offer services in several languages.

Katarina Church (Lutheran) has a late night mass on the 24th at 11.30pm, otherwise they have a Christmas prayer at 5pm. On the 25th they have Christmas Mass at 11am. These services are in Swedish.

The main Catholic church in Stockholm is called Katolska Domkyrkan and is just a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. They have the following mass times:

December 24th
8am- Swedish
9pm- Italian
10pm- Croatian
12am- Midnight Mass (in Swedish or Latin I assume, no language given on website)

December 25th
8:45am- Italian
11am- High Mass (in Swedish or Latin, I assume)
2pm- Spanish
3:30pm- Maronite Rite
5pm- Polish
6:30pm- Swedish

If you are looking for a Catholic Mass in English, you will have to head to the downtown area... to St Eugenia Church. They have a midnight mass on the 24th and a mass at 6pm on the 25th and 26th. All three in English!
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St Lucia Day

Photo: Marie Andersson, Skansen

(EDIT: Click here for information regarding 2012 Lucia) This Monday, December 13th, is St Lucia Day... an important day is the Swedish holiday calendar and one of the most beautiful of Swedish traditions. The main tradition is that of a parade of white clad singers holding a candle, led by a young woman (Lucia) with a wreath of candles in her hair. They sing the Lucia song while entering, followed by Christmas carols. This procession will take place in homes, schools and churches all through Sweden on Monday. In homes the processions are made up of the children in the family coming into their parents room in the morning. Elsewhere the Lucia is often elected. Check out videos on youtube to get a better idea of the ceremony.

Photo: Marie Andersson, Skansen

As a visitor to Stockholm, your best chance of witnessing this tradition is either in a church or at Skansen. Churches can have one or two processions/concerts during the afternoon and evening. There is generally an admission fee and tickets should be bought ahead of time as this is quite a popular event. While churches provide perhaps the most beautiful setting, the downside is that the church service will be generally done in Swedish and may be a bit hard for tourists to understand! The other option is Skansen. This is Stockholm's outdoor cultural museum and zoo and a great place to experience genuine Swedish traditions. Here you will find Lucia celebrations going on all day and into the evening... There will be four Lucia concerts in the Seglora church (12:30, 2:00, 3:30 and 5pm), otherwise the main Lucia procession & concert (with the official Lucia of Sweden) will be at the Solliden stage at 6pm. Please remember that most of Skansen is outdoors, so dress accordingly! The easiest way to get to Skansen from the Rival Hotel is to take the Djurgårds Ferry from Slussen (a 10 minute walk from the hotel).

Photo: Henrik Trygg, Stockholms Visitors Board

Tip #17- Religious Worship, Part 2

Last week I talked about Catholic services in Stockholm, this week it will be about Jewish services.

The largest synagogue is the Great Synagogue of Stockholm (Masorti), which is also recognized as a National Historic Building. It is located on a side street (Wahrendorffsgatan 3b) right off of Kungsträdsgården park. Here you will also find the Jewish Library as well as the Holocaust Memorial which lists 8,500 victims who were realtives of Jews residing in Sweden. More information can be found on their tourist info page. If you are planning on visiting a Shabbat service, you should send in your name to info@jfst.se no later than Friday at 11am.
There are two Orthodox Synagogues in Stockholm... one which is right around the corner from the Rival Hotel. The Adjat Israel, known as Söder Shul, is located on St Paulsgatan a 5 minute walk from us. Adat Jeschurun is located in the Jewish School building in the downtown area. The interior furniture in this synagogue was rescued from the Hamburg Synagogue that survived Kristalnacht.

While we are on the subject, I can recommend the Jewish Museum (Judiska Museet)in here in Stockholm. Located in the Vasastan neighborhood, this museums focuses on the history of the Swedish Jews and their adaption to Swedish society. Open every day but Saturday, entrance costs 60 SEK, 40 for seniors and 20 for students. Free entrance with the Stockholm Card.

Tip #17- Religious Worship, Part 1

Sweden is officially a Lutheran/Protestant country and there are plenty of churches in the city offering Lutheran services, but I often get asked by guests about religious services for other denominations and religions. So I thought I would write, in two parts, about how to find Catholic & Jewish services in Stockholm.
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The Catholic Church has several churches within the city limits, and the main diocese church (Domkyrkan) is actually just a 10-15 minute walk from the Rival Hotel. Located near the Medborgarplatsen square... this church offers  several masses daily, with the masses on Sunday given in several languages (Swedish, Polish, Croatian, Italian & Latin). Please contact me or the hotel reception to get actual times for the different masses and when the confessional is open. Another nearby church is St. Eugenia which is located next to the park Kungsträdgården (closest subway Kungsträdgården- blue line) in the downtown area. They also offer several masses daily, with a Sunday 6pm mass in English. Once again, contact us for other mass/confessional times.

Both of the churches websites, linked above, are in Swedish. However the Catholic Church of Sweden has a website with a limited page in English linked here. There you can find mass times of all of the Catholic churches in Sweden as well as some other information.
Next week: Judaism.
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Click here for some other useful tips...