dopparedagen

Swedish

Sop, a tradition that, in many Swedish homes, exclusively takes place on Christmas Eve.

Alternative forms

Etymology

Compound of doppare (“dipper, soaker”) +‎ dagen (“the day”) from doppa (“to dip, soak”), and the definite form of dag (“day”). From the Christmas Eve practice of soaking bread in the stock from the Christmas ham. See dopp i grytan.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²dɔparɛˌdɑːɡɛn/, /²dɔparɛˌdɑːn/

Noun

dopparedagen c (definite)

(metonymically) Christmas Eve
Synonym: julafton
- 1940, Fredrik Ström, Min ungdoms strider, page 45:
  Man räknade dagen före dagen före dagen före dopparedagen redan en hel vecka före jul.
  One counted the day before the day before the day before Christmas Eve already a whole week before Christmas.
  (literally, “One counted the day before the day before the day before dipping-day already a whole week before Christmas.”)
- 2017 December 30, TT News Agency, “Postnord: Julpaketen hann fram i tid [Postnord: The Christmas packages arrived on time.]”, in Svenska Dagbladet:
  Oron var stor att beställda paket inte skulle komma fram i tid till julafton. Men enligt Postnord har de nått mottagaren innan dopparedagen.
  The concern was significant that the ordered packages wouldn't arrive in time for Christmas Eve. However, according to Postnord, they reached the recipient before Christmas Eve.
  (literally, “The concern was significant that the ordered packages wouldn't arrive in time for Christmas Eve. However, according to Postnord, they reached the recipient before dipping-day.”)

Usage notes

A common usage of the term is to say da(ge)n före doppareda(ge)n (“the day before the dipping-day”), i.e. the day before Christmas Eve.
- It can also be extended to da(ge)n före da(ge)n före doppareda(ge)n (“the day before the day before the dipping-day”), and so on, as a sort of countdown to Christmas Eve.

Derived terms

dagen före dopparedagen

References

dopparedagen in Svensk ordbok (SO)