Sweden in December: Weather and Travel

In December Sweden has cold or freezing temperatures. The far south gets an average of 6 hours of daylight. Kiruna begins to have continual night. Highlights for Sweden in December are generally low snowfall/rainfall for being outdoors and aurora watching winter sports long purple/violet twilights and Christmas festivities.

Southern Sweden: Stockholm Gothenburg and the southern coast are at 59° degrees latitude and southward. The weather is cold and it might snow or sleet. The average high is about 3°C (37°F). The weather is suited for urban touring sightseeing and skiing.

Northern Sweden: The arctic tourist towns are north of latitude 66°. Kiruna and Abisko are at latitude 68°. They begin to have perpetual night on December 11. This gives you a better chance for seeing auroras. It is freezing so the snow accumulates and so you can could do snow sports there.

The Best Places to Visit in Sweden in December

Sweden’s December highlights feature aurora watching all over the country and several hours of daily light in southern regions for sightseeing excursions and a break from the night. The low rainfall/snowfall lets you tour the cities more comfortably and enjoy the outdoors.

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1. Stockholm — Enjoy the Winter Cultural and Natural Highlights

Winter in Stockholm with snow

Stockholm is a large modern capital in a natural environment of forests and 3000 islands. The natural winter beauty is unusual among large capital cities. Shopping at Christmas markets and Christmas concerts have a special appeal as does skiing cross-country at forests such as Nacka Reserve.

Since there is only about 6 hours of daylight you can also watch the auroral highlights on clear nights outside the city. The average daily highs are 3°C (37°F) and the lows are -1°C (30°F). The rain/snowfall is low but the conditions enable Stockholm’s ski slope with lifts to be open.

Family-friendly ski resorts are close enough for a day excursion. Early December is low tourism season in Stockholm with relatively low touring prices. In the middle of December prices peak as people go on vacation tourists arrive for the solstice and Christmas events begin.

2. Åre and Duved — Enjoy Skiing at the Ski Resorts

Åre is the best ski resort area in Sweden and Duved is a resort that is more moderately priced and that is a few minutes away. The resorts are a 6- or 7-hour trip from Stockholm by passenger train. The resorts are open in December and you could do downhill skiing or winter sports on world-class slopes.

Duved is better for beginners and children. The crowds and prices are less at Duved than Åre. Early December is much quieter than the second half of December. The winter solstice Christmas and New Years are big events when tourists come in to celebrate ski and do après ski activities such as going to spas and dining.

Before Christmas people are already celebrating and decorate with thousands of lights. Evening skiing is offered from mid-December and during the Christmas holidays. Duved has an average of 4½ hours of daylight average highs of -1°C (30°F) and lows of -7°C (19°F).

3. Kiruna — Enjoy the Auroras and Arctic Wilderness

Kiruna is a town in the far north that tourists go to to enjoy the arctic. Abisko National Park that is about an hour's drive away is regarded as the best place in the world to watch auroras because the skies are so clear and the rainfall is so low.

The Kiruna has no daylight on from December 11. However there are unusually long eerie purple/indigo and multicolored twilight skies that provide some light for outdoors activities such as hiking snowshoe trekking and cross-country skiing. You can get from about 6 to 9 hours of these eerie nocturnal highlights in December.

At the beginning of the month a couple of hours of daylight provide a cheery break from the dark and some light for excursions such as seeing Scandinavia’s largest alpine lake in Abisko. The average high is -5°C (23°F). The low is -13°C (9°F). Kiruna is semi-arid.

4. Gothenburg — Enjoy the Cultural Highlights

Gothenburg is a southern city where you can experience the Sweden’s cultural events. It is moderately rainy and rain/snow falls about half the days of the month. Its highlights in December are the Christmas festivities and markets at the end of the month and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The weather is cold and there is moderate rainfall in December. There’s an average of about an hour of daily sunshine. The average high is 4°C (39°F). The low is 0°C (32°F). On clear days and evenings you could visit the Liseberg Christmas Market. It is the largest in Scandinavia.

In the middle of December the Lucia concerts and choirs perform about December 12 or 13. Also restaurants traditionally begin serving Christmas smorgasbords in the middle of December.

Low Tourism Season: Touring Advice for December

Sweden turns cold in the centerral and south and freezing in the north and the mountains. At the beginning of the month you can visit when there is low tourism and more light.

In the middle of the month people go on vacation and start celebrating the Christmas season and the winter solstice. They go skiing as the ski resorts start to open and so tourism picks up.

The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are a peak travel and tourism season. If you want to go to the popular locations during the holidays such as Kiruna or the Åre ski resorts book reservations ahead of time.

Scandinavian Aurora Watching

Northern lights over the calm lake in Abisko national park

The ultra-long nights all over the country let you see the auroras. The best place to see the auroras is the far north where the eerie indigo/violet/pink twilight highlights linger overhead and deep night is longest. Occasionally you might see the shimmering sparkling gleaming auroral highlights in the stratosphere.

The days around Christmas and New Year is when a lot of visitors arrive so prices are higher. The greater choice of accommodations and lower prices at the beginning of December might allow you to spend more time sky watching relaxing and experiencing the great outdoors.

Longyearbyen is on the island of Svalbard northwest of Norway. It is the furthest north of any tourist town and is always in nighttime in December with only about 7 hours of faint twilight on average daily.

For a little more darkness in December than in Sweden you could go to the Norwegian towns of Tromsø or Alta too. For more about Tromsø see Norway Weather in December.

Public Holidays in December:

During the last half of December Swedes go on vacation during several national holidays that provide legal days off from work. The price for airline tickets rises.

• Christmas Eve is December 24 annually. It isn't a legal holiday but it is a traditional holiday and most businesses close in Sweden. Swedes celebrate with family meals and gift giving.
• Christmas Day is December 25 annually. It is a legal holiday and a day off for most people. Schools and businesses are closed. It is a day for gift giving and celebrating the birth of Jesus the Son of God.
• Boxing Day is December 26 annually. It is a legal holiday and a day off for most people. Schools and businesses are closed. It is generally a day to relax in Sweden.
• New Year's Eve is December 31 annually. It isn't a legal holiday but it is a traditional holiday. Businesses and banks close in Sweden.

What to Wear in December

In December you can be comfortable by dressing in layers. Bring a heavy coat gloves and warm clothing. Take raingear wherever you go in the southern regions since it rains along the coast especially along the western coast.

It is important to wear shoes with good traction to avoid slipping on wet cobblestones or ice.

Here is a packing list for a few essentials in Sweden:

• Warm waterproof boots with good traction for hikes and being outdoors. You might wear them in-flight to travel lightly.
• Comfortable shoes with good traction
• Rain gear
• Warm hat
• Swimwear for spas hot springs and lakes
• Cardigans or thermals especially for the mountains and the north
• Polarized glasses for glare from the snow

Monthly Weather and Travel Information for Sweden

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