Sweden is a country full of lakes and islands surrounded by high mountains and dense forests. The country has a rich history and because of that many arts, food and music festivals are held there all year round. Below are presented the most popular of them.
Walpurgis Night (April 30)
On April 30 every year Walpurgis night festival kicks of nationwide celebrations commemorating the coming of spring. Like spring celebrations everywhere, this festival truly marks the beginning of a new year, a fresh beginning to all the seasons to come. This festival has roots in paganism and has been celebrated long before the acceptance and practice of organized religions. The Swedes have rediscovered their time- tested beliefs and traditions. They know that modernity does not equate with culture and tradition, but promotion of art and culture is modernism in the truest sense. This festival can be called the northern European version of Halloween. No spring festival is complete without the symbolic presence of light and fire. The celebrations involve lighting of massive bonfires, with people dancing around it, bidding goodbye to winter and welcoming spring. Following ancient traditions, people use fire and light to keep evil spirits and even witches at bay. Dressing up, and costume parties, breakbarriers between culture and people; adults behave like innocent children who are learning new lessons about life.
This being a traditional festival celebrated nationwide, one particular group of young patrons have made it a festival of their choice: University towns light up during the night with students taking the unique opportunity to build bonfires and party all night. They all have an opportunity to take a break from the studies and use art as a learning, as well as excuse for entertainment. No group of students have fully integrated the festival in their bouquet of annual events, as the students of the Chalmers University of Technology. These students attire themselves in quirky fancy dresses, and in keeping with the modern times parade their weirdly decorated vehicles down the streets. In earliertimes it would have been oxen and horse driven carriages, but now antique and new vehicles have taken their place. Of all the parades and marches that take place, The Cortege students’ parade is a sight to behold. They show off their organizational skills in making the festival an event to remember and cherish. Since the university boast of a multicultural identity, it shows off in their planned programming. Check with multiple vendors to have a nice parade float banner
Since the day also falls on the birthday of King Carl XVI Gustaf, the celebrations take a special significance. They pay their respect to their heritage and nobility, and at the same time follow an old tradition. The citizens respect for the monarchy is reciprocated by the royalty taking active part in all the celebrations. The citizens firmly believe that sticking to the royal traditions is part of their cultural heritage. Visitors are in for a treat with young andold, men and woman, along with university students’ strife to make the evening and night memorable.
Stockholm Early Music Festival (4-9 June)
Who would not like to be introduced to the music of the Vikings? This music festival held every year in June, is unique because unlike other music festivals which tend to focus on late classical or contemporary music, this mainly concentrate on the early musical traditions. They recreate and play music ranging from the medieval, think Vikings, up to the Renaissance period. Music pre-renaissance is a delight to hear and it attracts many north Europeans who take pride in their medieval history, traditions and culture.The top musicians of all over Scandinavia show off their talents. This is the only festival in the region which gives a special place of significance to all their medieval traditions, with music being the prime tradition among them.
Europe and the rest of the world conducts so many classical and contemporary music festivals that one does not get an opportunity to show off their music from the pre-Beethoven era. One can see patrons dressed in their best suit, the clean and classy performances of a parade of artists and musicians. Patrons come dressed in period costumes, national costumes and party wear, all very classy to mark the occasion.
To add to the attraction, patrons are treated to special lunch of the best Swedish cuisine, and they have an opportunity to attend seminars and master classes learning about ancient musical traditions which were no less complex and entertaining.There are very less places in the world which provides such a unique platform for music enthusiasts. Sweden has taken a lead and put the promotion of early period musical traditions firmly in the European festivalcalendar. They have taken pride in their heritage and it isencouraging other nations to do the same. The real wealth of a nation is its art and cultural traditions and the Swedes have succeeded in preserving their real fortune.
This festival is not only a playground for musicians and music lovers, but also a learning field for music scholars and researchers who have the unique opportunity to study the true origins of music. Like any art form, the development of music shows the development of intelligence. What differentiated the modern man from his almost primate ancestors are the understanding of art and culture, and music was the first art which truly distinguished the modern man from his ancestors. Every year the festival sees the arrival of new artists and talents who have adopted the ancient musical traditions. Budding musicians fromScandinavia and from all over the globe come to learn more about the music of the medieval and Baroque periods. Since music knows no boundaries, artists learn new times and themes and incorporate them in their own creations. Far from being an entertaining festival, this festival provides a platform for learning new techniques and rhythms.
Gothenburg Culture Festival (6-11 August)
This festival held every year in August marks one of the most popular festivals of northern Europe. It is at par in reputation with The Fringe festival of Adelaide, or The National Arts festival of Grahamstown. The only festival of repute that dominates every other European festival is surely the Gothenburg Cultural festival. The streets of the university town of Gothenburg is transformed during the duration of the festival. The entire city offers street parties with the finest ballet performances; high energy street theatre and of course, no celebration is complete without music. Classical, pop, Jazz, Rock andReggie gets its place of honor during the festival. All kinds of talents are on display during the festival. One can hop from Jazz performance to land in a corner playing Indie-rock; or, a Reggie artist from the Caribbean islands can be seen charming his young audiences with both beats and groovy music. One can let their hair down or gel it up depending on the music they are listening to, during this multicultural festival. The lovers of classical music can immerse themselves in hours and hours of enchanting and mesmerizing music. No group or community is left behind when it comes to entertainment during the conduction of the festival.
No festival is complete without the presence of food. The festival not only offers visitors the famed local delicious Swedish meat balls in cream sauce, but also introduces street foods from all other parts of the world. For the visitors, the festival provides both a familiarity and uniquely exotic environment. The festival provides both, food for the body, and food for the soul with its variety of music performances.
The Gothenburg culture festival showcases Sweden as a land of history, a place of culture and traditions and of course the country which revels in celebrations. Sweden is known as one of the most beautiful Scandinavian country, but no other celebration epitomizes the Swedish spirit better than this festival. They know that celebrations and festivals are true expressions of a healthy and happy society. Any nation that celebrates its past traditions, and welcomes the present culture with an eye for the future art trends, is a confident nation, and festivals like this only endorses its reputation.Since its inception, the festival has grown in reputation and is now attracting visitors in large numbers. The opening of other economies of the world had been good for the cultural movements of Europe.
If you want to read more about what Sweden has to offer, regarding other activities you can do during your stay in Sweden, make sure to check out the German website from Backpackertrail.
List of other major festivals
- January 1: New Year’s Day
- February 15-17: Vinterfest
- February 21-24: Umefolk
- April 30: Midsummer Festival
- July: Peace and love festival
- May: Umea Kulturnatta
- 31st May to 1st June: Summerburst Festival
- June 21-26: Gotland Chamber Music Festival
- June 22-23: Drakamöllan Opera Festival
- August 15-18: Chamber Music Festival in Allhelgonakyrkan
- August 15-18: Change Music Festival
- August: Stockholm Folk Festival
- September 4-20: Landskrona Foto Festival
- September 29-30: Kivik Apple Market Festival
- October 9-13: Uppsala International Guitar Festival
- October 14-20: Lund Choral Festival
