The Modern Tradition That Is Donald Duck On Christmas Eve In Sweden

If you have ever had the good fortune to have spent a Christmas here in Sweden then you have no doubt witnessed the oddity which is Kalle Anka on Christmas Eve. If you haven't, well, I'm going to explain it to you.

In 1958 Disney aired a Christmas program called From All Of Us To All Of You on it's Wonderful World of Disney TV show. It was originally a collection of Christmas themed animated shorts and selections from feature length cartoons hosted by Jiminy Cricket. In subsequent years it was varied by adding plugs for upcoming releases etc. Some of these, such as Robin Hood, were absorbed into the show permanently.

At 3 PM on Christmas Eve in 1960 Swedish television aired it for the first time under the name, Kalle Anka Och Hans Vänner Önskar God Jul, roughly, Donald Duck And His Friends Wish You A Merry Christmas. (I could go into details but simply put Donald Duck is the principle character here in Sweden, not Mickey Mouse, and Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve here not on Christmas Day.) The strange thing about the original airing is that, according to myth, it was dubbed live by Bengt Feldreich, who continues to be the narrating voice to this day. Apparently he was more or less translating what was going on as it went on, which lends the program a bit of charm as you can hear the characters at the same time. He also sings the Swedish version of "When You Wish Upon A Star" at the shows conclusion. The show has aired every year since, for 45 years, at the same time on the same channel.

Now, conceivably, this could have been a one time thing. 1961 could have come along without any Kalle Ankaand people would not have cried bloody murder. But, things have changed. Occasionally Swedish television has in fact threatened to stop airing it. Why they would is anyone's guess. But, on the occasions they have, there has been an outpour of dismay and anger from the Swedish viewers. (You simply do not tape Kalle Ankait is an unwritten rule. Although people have, and have put it up on bit torrent sites for the sake of Swedish families living abroad.) Why would so many people be upset about the lack of one cartoon shown once a year? Because roughly 3.5 to 4 million people watch it every year. And that is a lot for a country with just barely 9 million inhabitants.

Kalle Anka is one of those rare occurrences of the birth of a modern national tradition. The watching of this Disney cartoon collection is a part of the Swedish Christmas as much as the tree, the presents, and the herring. Granted there are those that choose not to watch, those that do not like it, but for the most part it is an essential part of Christmas. To most it is watched half-heartedly after so many years of seeing it, for the kids it is something to look forward to, and for nearly everyone it is the official sign that Christmas celebrations have begun. It has been sampled in Christmas songs, written into plays about Christmas, and spawned a number of catch phrases that are a part of the Swedish language.

How is all of this possible? Well, one can draw a number of conclusions. First off, it's for kids. And kids like cartoons and Disney. So, the children who grew up watching it want to pass that on to their children and so on and so forth. Secondly, Disney was scarce in Sweden in the 60's and 70's. There were of course the comic books, and the feature length films, but overall there was little to be had. A conglomeration of Disney cartoons was obviously something special, especially if it had a snippet of what was to come in the future. Thirdly, until 1969 Sweden only had one TV channel. Which meant that you weren't given a lot of alternatives, and if you have a houseful of children eagerly awaiting the arrival of jultomten an hour long Disney show is obviously a good thing. (Sweden wouldn't get a third tv channel until 1987, when TV3 became the first non-state run network.)

There you have the basics. It's difficult to accurately describe just how much a part of Swedish culture Kalle Anka is in words. It's more of something you experience and become accustomed to after years of living here. Just like pickled herring, glögg, singing around the dinner table, and celebrating Christmas Eve...

K. Panda