New Year's Day and Thirteenth Day of Christmas

That four New Year's Day and the thirteenth day is a matter of course for very many people. But its cultural and historical origins are not always completely obvious. Although they have origins that do not necessarily have to do with each other, they form a basic framework in how we both end and meet the new year.

We have taken a closer look at the thirteenth day of Christmas and New Year's Day.

Epiphany

The thirteenth day of Christmas got its name because it takes place on the thirteenth day after Christmas. Thus, it usually occurs on January 6th. In addition to being one of the church's most important festivals, it is also a holiday in many countries. The day intends to celebrate the day when it was revealed that Jesus was the Son of God.

How is the thirteenth day of Christmas celebrated?

• In Sweden, the day often goes unnoticed. But many other countries have a position that corresponds to our Christmas Eve, with gifts and socializing.

• Many in Sweden have recently chosen to celebrate the day with good food.

Although the thirteenth day often takes place without special celebration, it is an important Christian holiday that is part of our common cultural heritage.

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the day to mark the definitive start of a new year. It takes place on January 1 and is thus the first calendar day of the year. It is a holiday in most countries around the world and has paradoxically been given the status of being the day to clean up the mess from the New Year celebrations.

What is unique about New Year's Day is that it is a result of pre-Christian traditions combined with Roman and Christian elements. Therefore, it is a holiday that in a way has no really concrete common thread. But despite this, it continues to be a holiday that consists of both cleaning and a rapture that a new year has begun.

May 1

Since the end of the 19th century, May Day has been one of the most important recurring festivals and events of the labor movement. Its history is closely linked to the rise of socialism in Europe and has had a very strong hold, not least in Sweden.

But what is the first of May really about?

The growth of the labor movement

Despite the fact that the USA is now mainly associated with the free market, it is actually from there that the first of May originates. Although the idea of organizing works has a much longer history, most believe that its model is a decision made in 1884 in the United States. The American Labor Movement Federation of Labor (AFL) decided to demand a broad limitation of the working day to eight hours.

The Second International was an organization formed in Paris to mark a kind of symbolic extension of the French Revolution, while striking a blow for the rights of future workers. Their formation in 1889 is also usually seen as a kind of beginning of the first corn position as an official holiday.

The labor movement has since been a decentralized social movement with a focus on improving workers' rights. The concept is broad and encompasses both organized trade unions and the ambitions and expressions of individuals. The labor movement has been active in many countries throughout history, but it has been most successful in Western industrialized countries. The labor movement is often associated with socialist and communist political parties and organizations, but it is not necessarily tied to any particular ideology.

The first May train

A special symbol for the first of May is the first May train that takes place every year in several countries. Not least in Sweden, it has had a very strong position. The song Internationalen is in many places the train's more or less official theme song. Although the train is common, they continue to have a controversial position in many parts of the world where the labor movement is not yet accepted.