Julotta

Christmas Day in Sweden starts with julotta, an early Christmas service, sometimes as early as 4 in the morning. Here is Anders Magnus Andersson from Dalaryd, aged 65, on his way to julotta in Svinhult Parish, Östergötland County, in 1915.

Christmas morning prayers

Otta is “the earliest time of day that can be allocated for work or other activities,” according to a Swedish dictionary. I don’t know about you, but for me, that may be anywhere from 7—maybe 6:30 on a good day. On other days it’s closer to 10 in the morning. Our hardworking Swedish ancestors had other ideas.

Julotta is the Swedish name of the Christmas morning matins, early morning prayers. The word comes from jul, Swedish for Christmas, and otta, that early morning hour.

To this day, a few churches within the Church of Sweden still hold julotta at 4 in the morning, following Medieval tradition.

You can tell that early julotta is a strong and cherished tradition. From the year 1686, the law set julotta to start at 6. The church gave people two hours to sleep in the depth of winter, yet the old custom has survived for 330 years and counting.

Obligatory church attendance in Sweden

Now, how did the law enter the discussion? Why were there regulations around when church started, you may ask. Before 1809, all Swedes were obliged to attend church, by law. The term was kyrkogångsplikt, church attendance duty. It meant the population had a duty to attend church for mass every week and on major holidays. These were the regulations for every Swede living within about 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles from a church building. Those with larger distances could attend less often. In the south of Sweden, it’s rare to be more than 10 kilometers from a church building. They are spread out in a landscape of fields and forests.

The northern half of the country, and especially away from the coast, has completely different conditions than the south. Forests, mountains, and fells, a mountainous landscape combining high altitudes and low vegetation, dominate. Large areas are wild and unpopulated. In the northernmost part of Sweden, the distances between churches were so large that villages were built specifically for people to gather to attend church.

Conclusion

So to recap, your Swedish ancestors in the 1500s and earlier attended church at 4 in the morning on Christmas Day. From the late 1600s, the matins started at 6. Keep in mind that even in the very south of Sweden, the dawn breaks after 8:30 on 25 December. But your ancestors were obliged to be in church on Christmas morning until 1809. Many, however, loved it so much that they kept the tradition of welcoming Christmas Day at 4 in the morning to this day.

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Sources:

1. Svenska Akademien. Svenska Akademiens ordbok. Vol. 19 (1951), col. O 1593, s.v. “otta.” Accessed 4 May 2026. https://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=O_1537-0063.61a4&pz=3
2. “Julotta.” Wikipedia. Accessed 4 May 2026. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julotta
3. “Kyrkogångsplikt.” Wikipedia. Accessed 4 May 2026. https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrkog%C3%A5ngsplikt
4. “Solens upp- och nedgång – Malmö – 2026.” DinStartsida. Accessed 4 May 2026. https://www.dinstartsida.se/solen-ort.asp?id=766