Nyår in Sweden: dates 2026–2027, traditions and words
| Day | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| NyårsdagenRed day | Thursday, 1 January 2026 | Friday, 1 January 2027 |
| NyårsaftonDay off in practice | Thursday, 31 December 2026 | Friday, 31 December 2027 |
- The date
- Nyårsafton is always 31 December and nyårsdagen 1 January.
- Day off?
- Nyårsdagen (1 January) is a public holiday. Nyårsafton is not by law, but most workplaces close or finish early and many collective agreements treat it as a day off.
Where Christmas belongs to the family, New Year's Eve belongs to friends. Swedes dress up, eat a long dinner together, count down to midnight and go outside to watch or set off fireworks. New Year's Day is for sleeping late, a walk and leftovers.
The wish you will hear everywhere in the days before is gott nytt år, often followed by tack för det gamla: thanks for the old year, said to people you have spent it with.
What Swedes do
- A dinner of several courses with friends, often with seafood, and a countdown together as midnight approaches.
- Just before midnight many people watch Swedish TV's broadcast from Skansen in Stockholm, where the poem Nyårsklockan, a Swedish version of Tennyson's Ring Out, Wild Bells, is read aloud. It has been a Skansen tradition for more than a century.
- Fireworks at midnight. Rules are local: many municipalities only allow them around New Year's Eve, and some ban them in town centres. Rockets with sticks have been banned for private use since 2019.
- New Year's resolutions (nyårslöften), usually about exercise, food or Swedish lessons.
Food and drink
| Swedish | English | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| skaldjur | seafood | Lobster, prawns and oysters are popular at New Year dinners. |
| toast Skagen | prawn toast | Prawns in a dill mayonnaise on fried bread, a classic starter. |
| oxfilé | beef fillet | A common main course for a festive dinner. |
| ostbricka | cheese board | Often brought out late in the evening, after dessert. |
Words for Nyår
Nouns are given with en or ett where you would use them that way. Words in our dictionary are linked, with their forms and pronunciation.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| ett nyår | New Year |
| nyårsafton | New Year's Eve |
| nyårsdagen | New Year's Day |
| en nyårsfest | a New Year's party |
| ett nyårslöfte | a New Year's resolution |
| tolvslaget | the stroke of midnight |
| en nedräkning | a countdown |
| ett fyrverkeri | fireworks (a display) |
| en raket | a rocket |
| en smällare | a banger, firecracker |
| ett tomtebloss | a sparkler |
| en festmiddag | a festive dinner |
| ett nyårstal | a New Year speech |
| uppklädd | dressed up |
| en serpentin | a paper streamer |
| årsskiftet | the turn of the year |
| året som gått | the past year |
| midnatt | midnight |
Phrases you will hear
- Gott nytt år!Happy New Year!
- Gott nytt år och tack för det gamla!Happy New Year, and thanks for the old one!
- Vad gör du på nyårsafton?What are you doing on New Year's Eve?
- Har du något nyårslöfte?Have you made a New Year's resolution?
- Vi ses nästa år!See you next year!
Songs
These are the songs you are likely to hear. We list them by title only; any Swedish songbook (sångbok) has the words.
- Nyårsklockan: A poem rather than a song: the Swedish version of Tennyson's Ring Out, Wild Bells, read at Skansen just before midnight.
Learn more Swedish
See every holiday and the full list of red days in the Swedish holiday calendar, and pick up one new word a day with the Swedish word of the day. Dates and weekdays are easier with our guide to days and months in Swedish and the Swedish numbers tool.
Sources
- Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar, Riksdagen: which days are public holidays.
- Fyrverkerier, Malmö stad (local rules example)
Dates are calculated from the rules above and were checked against the law and published calendars. Last checked 7 October 2026. Customs vary between regions and families; this page describes the common ones.