Maundy Thursday, known as skartorsdagen in Swedish, marks a significant Christian event but is treated differently across the Nordics. While Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands recognize it as a public holiday, Sweden and Finland do not. This discrepancy dates back to the 16th century, linked to the split from Denmark and divergent Reformation practices. The Danish Reformation led to fewer public holidays being preserved than in Sweden, which retained many until a later reform. Interestingly, Sweden still remembers Maundy Thursday despite it being a working day, reflecting lingering cultural ties.
"Denmark carried out a much more extensive reduction of public holidays in connection with the Reformation," Goran Malmstedt, a history professor at Gothenburg University, told The Local. "In Denmark, the king decided in 1537 that only 16 of the many medieval public holidays would be preserved, while in Sweden almost twice as many public holidays were retained through the decision in the Church Order of 1571."
The difference goes back to Sweden's split from Denmark with the breakup of the Kalmar Union in 1523, and then the different ways the two countries carried out the Reformation and the establishment of their respective Lutheran churches.
Historically, Maundy Thursday has been recognized for marking the Last Supper, a significant event in Christianity, but the observance varies due to historical differences in church reformations.
"It wasn't until 200 years later, that Sweden's Enlightenment monarch, Gustav III decided to follow Denmark's austere approach, axing 20 public holidays, Maundy Thursday included, in the calendar reform known in Sweden as den stora helgdoden, or 'the big public holiday slaughter'."
Collection
[
|
...
]