A (: '

Yule Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indi ...

;

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

', : '

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

') is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

term for the

matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated b ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, 25 December, that celebrates the nativity of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Observance

The service is held every 25 December early on

morning – at 7 a.m. in most church buildings, but in some churches it is celebrated at 10 a.m., or as early as 4 a.m. During previous centuries, most s were held at 4 a.m. Traditionally, the service should end before, or at the time of, dawn: hence the word is the time just before dawn. After , Swedish people race to get home first from the church. The winner is believed to harvest the most bountiful crops for the year ahead. Historically in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

the clergy was obliged not only to say the high mass but also

( sv, ottesång) and

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

( sv, aftonsång); today only the evensong of Christmas remain but has been liturgically changed since and can now be the main service of Christmas Day, wherefore many parishes have no mid-morning high mass on Christmas Day.

History

was traditionally the most popular service in the Church of Sweden but the

Midnight Mass In many Western Christian traditions Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas ...

on 24 December has become more popular. People who hardly attended church regularly in the rest of the year often attended the but they tend to go to the Midnight Mass or the Advent Sunday service. The decline of in favour of the Midnight Mass began in Sweden during the 1970s. In 1979 5.35% of Church of Sweden members attended their

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

on Christmas Day, but by 1988, the number had decreased to 3.76%. Swedish immigrants spread the festivity to different countries.

References

External links

Excerpt from a Julotta service held in Alabama
YouTube {{Christianity in Sweden Mass (liturgy) Nativity of Jesus in worship and liturgy Christmas in Sweden Church of Sweden