A new year, a new empty agenda! My agenda is never empty for very long as I begin to mark all the long weekends and vacations. Knowing when the holidays and vacations fall is so handy when planning a trip. That’s why I set up a list for you with the dates of the holidays in Sweden. This way you can not only avoid finding out many things closed during your stay, but you can also choose your travel dates in function of certain festivities.
Swedish Holidays 2023
The official Swedish holidays are röda dagen (red days) in Sweden. These are the days when most of Sweden do not have to work. I put them bold in the list below. Midsummer Eve and Christmas Eve are in bold and italic. Although no official holidays in Sweden, most of the Swedish take the day off or stop working earlier.
| 1 January | Nyårsdagen | New year |
| 6 January | Trettondedag Jul | |
| 13 January | Tjugondedag Jul (Knutsdagen) | |
| 21 February | Fettisdagen | |
| 14 February | Alla Hjärtans dag | Valentine’s day |
| 6 April | Skärtorsdagen | |
| 7 April | Långfredagen | |
| 9 April | Påskdagen | Easter |
| 10 April | Annandag Påsk | Easter monday |
| 30 April | Valborgsmässoafton | Walpurgis |
| 1 May | Första Maj | |
| 18 May | Kristi Himmelfärds dag | |
| 28 May | Mors dag | Mother’s day |
| 6 June | Sveriges nationaldag | National holiday |
| 28 May | Pingstdagen | |
| 29 May | Annandag Pingst | |
| 23 June | Midsommarafton | Midsummer eve |
| 24 June | Midsommaren | Midsummer |
| 4 November | Alla Helgons dag | All Saints |
| 12 November | Fars dag | Father’s day |
| 13 December | Luciadagen | St Lucia |
| 24 December | Julafton | Christmas eve |
| 25 December | Juldagen (Jul) | Christmas |
| 26 December | Annandag Jul | Boxing Day |
Swedish school holidays 2023
The Swedish school holidays are sometimes spread, depending on the region.
Christmas Holidays
The Christmas holidays in Sweden is from December 22, 2023, till January 5, 2024.
Visiting Stockholm during Christmas season? Read this article!
Winter Holidays
In Sweden, the winter holiday is called ‘sportlov‘ or sports holidays. This holiday is spread between weeks 7 and 10, depending on the region. In Göteborg it is week 7, in Malmö week 8 and Stockholm had week 9.
If you would like to book a skiing holiday in Sweden, it may be useful to take these dates into account. Outside these periods, certain slopes can be closed or more (and cheaper) accommodation can be available.
Easter Holidays
Only Stockholm and Central Sweden have a full week of Easter Holidays. The other regions only have an extended Easter weekend.
Summer Holiday
The Summer Holidays in Sweden commence on June 14th and last until August 18, 2023 (depending on the region, this may differ a few days). Keep in mind that after this date touristic areas are a lot less busy and some attractions and facilities might be closed.
Autumn Holiday
The autumn vacation also depend on the region: from 30 October to 3 November 2023.
Good to know when planning your vacation to Sweden
⭐️On the eve of a holiday, shops and museums often close a bit earlier. Midsummer can be compared to Christmas. Just about everything is closed and a lot of Swedes go to their sommarstuga or holiday home. Yes, the day before is often one of the busiest times on the roads!
⭐️ During the corona crisis, the Swedes seemed to have rediscovered their own country. So keep in mind that during the Swedish summer holidays it can be crowded in the popular places. It is best to book overnight stays in touristic regions in advance. Try to travel a little later if you can – in mid-August the Swedish summer holidays are over and things are quieter again. Do check that the addresses you want to visit are still open during the week, for example. Or avoid the more popular spots and explore lesser-known regions.
⭐️ Many holidays are really special to experience in Sweden. I’m thinking of Valborg, midsummer,… Sometimes I really try to plan my trips around those events.
- Read more on midsummer in Sweden
- Read more on Christmas in Sweden
Pin for later
It was said the Summer Holiday for Sweden lasts really too long, for over 2 months from 6/12 to 8/18 in 2019. I was wondering how they work, production, industries continue during their off season, but only the recreational and services industries will boost up during these long offs.
I think she’s referring to the summer holiday for schools (which is similar to North America, that is, about 2 months off for elementary/secondary students). That said, Swedes get at least 5 weeks off. Having lived in Sweden for 26 years, basically Sweden is shut down from about Midsummer to the first or second week of August as people go on holiday. And the country somehow remains productive. Perhaps just goes to show you can be productive even with longer holidays. Maybe even more so.