The Swedish winter can be harsh, but there are many fun and interesting events held during this time.
Kiruna Snow Festival
Kiruna is located in Lapland, in the very north of Sweden,140km above the Arctic circle. Kiruna's "Snow Festival" is held in late January every year and is the biggest snow festival in Europe.
The Kiruna Snow Festival takes place over six days and features snowmobiling, dog-sled and reindeer racing, and a snow sculpture competition in which competitors carve out a three square-metre block of ice.
While in Kiruna, visitors can also see the Northern Lights and spend at night at the famous "Icehotel", the world's biggest igloo, located less than 20km away in Jukkasjärvi.
Sami Heritage Festival, Jokkmokk
Once a Sami winter camp, Jokkmokk is a town of 3000 people located in Swedish Lapland, above the Arctic Circle. For 400 years Jokkmokk has held an annual winter market, which takes place over the first few days of February.
Over hundreds of years, the market evolved from a commercial occasion into one focused on the community. Weddings, funerals, court sessions and local council meetings were also held at market time.
In the 20th century, the market evolved from a local Sami event into something of a tourist attraction, which multiplies the population of the small town of Jokkmokk for a few days each year.
The market remains an important Sami festival weekend however; many cultural events are held, craftspeople display and sell their work and schoolchildren present exhibits on Sami culture. There are also opportunities for dog-sledding and reindeer riding, and a fireworks display is traditionally held on the last day of the festival.
New Year in Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden's capital city, is a popular place for both local Swedes and tourists to spend New Year. Every year there is firework display on the river and several different events to choose from.
The "Nyårskonsert" (New Year's Concert) is held on the evening of New Year's Eve in the Storkyrkan church in Gamla Stan (Old Town).
In the fashionable district of Södermalm, bars and clubs hold special parties and are open until the morning of New Year's Day.
At the open-air museum Skansen, celebrations are broadcast live on television. There is live music and fireworks, and the Tennyson poem Ring Out, Wild Bells is traditionally read by a famous actor.
Dalarna's Vinterfest
A three hour's train journey from Stockholm, the town of Dalarna is home to the annual chamber music festval "Vinterfest".
Every year since 2006, world class musicians have travelled to the Vinterfest festival to perform at concert halls such as the Anders Zorn Museum, home of the largest collection of works by Sweden's national painter.
Sources:
Musik i Dalarna
