Östermalm’s market hall in Stockholm is the finest and largest in the city. During the pandemic, strong growth in trade was seen in the hall. Christmas is the most important time of the year for traders, and changes in orders tell us about the development of Swedish Christmas culture.
Stockholm
Of the year the busiest moment is at the door.
For Stockholm’s Östermalm market hall, the Christmas season is the most profitable time of the year. The city’s largest market hall has recently been renovated, and in December the hall has been plowed with Christmas decorations.
The avalanche of customers ’Christmas orders to the hall’s boutiques started right at the beginning of December, but the busiest days in the hall are December 22nd and 23rd.
“They are the biggest days of the year. Many want to buy herring on the 23rd, ”he says Anders Malmberg. He runs the butcher Husmans Del and the fish shop Lisa Elmqvist, who also has a restaurant in the hall.
Entrance to the Östermalm market hall, which opened in 1888. The hall was completely renovated in 2016–2020. Among other things, the original murals were restored.
Anders Malmberg presents the products of the fish trade.
Although the pandemic has severely damaged the Swedish economy as well, and many stores in the Östermalm hall have reported an increase in trade.
The afternoon newspaper Expressen reported a year ago at Christmas that some customers buy hall items for as much as SEK 40,000 (€ 4,000) each month.
Östermalm is the richest region in Stockholm. Anders Malmberg’s stores have also benefited from the growth during the pandemic.
“We have two legs: restaurants and shops. Restaurants have not done well during the pandemic, but we have seen growth in stores. The increase was due to the fact that customers have not traveled and visited restaurants as before, ”he says.
At the Swedish Christmas table, traditional delicacies are the most popular, but newer options are also available.
December At the beginning, the new omicron variant of the coronavirus was not yet known to be very widespread, but as Christmas approached, the omicron had come loose and Sweden had also reported new restrictions.
The concern has been whether this Christmas will become a similar restricted Christmas to last year, when the government recommended spending Christmas in only a small circle. In Sweden, too, it is customary to gather at Christmas for a large number of people at the Christmas table, julbordin, to the side of.
This Christmas, however, the restrictions are not as strict. The government hopes that a maximum of 50 people will attend the private gatherings.
“Last year there were smaller Christmas tables, but this Christmas is getting bigger, hugely good for us. You can tell from the orders: if eight salmon slices were ordered last Christmas, now twenty slices are ordered, ”says Malmberg.
According to Malmberg’s orders, the most popular Christmas dishes in Stockholm are Christmas ham, princes, meatballs, salmon and herring, of which there are up to thirty varieties.
“And then all the droppings, red cabbage, brunkål salad, slush. A lot of everything, ”he lists.
Lucas Öfors, who has worked in Husmans Deli for four years, enjoys the Christmas trade, even though the days are busy and often stretch for a long time. “People are usually happy at Christmas.”
Pandemian During this period, the number of home deliveries and pick-up orders has increased. Many stores have also set up stalls outside the hall, from where the ordered products can be picked up safely.
For Malmberg, this Christmas is already in the 17th hall. Over the years, he has seen a change in Swedish Christmas food culture.
“Christmas ham is still a big hit, but people are more aware these days. Instead of buying whole ham, you might just buy slices. And when meat is bought, we want better and better. People are generally more aware of their eating habits than they were 10-15 years ago. ”
And while the number of Christmas table items seems to be growing this year compared to last year, Swedes are no longer buying too much food as ever before.
“You don’t want to buy extra because you don’t want to throw away food. In the past, everyone wanted a Christmas table. There were dishes that just had to be there, even if no one ate them. ”
Maria Faal Tiikkaja enjoys working at Christmas. He has worked at Melanders since 2013 and recently moved to the hall office.
Maria Faal Tiikkaja puts her in place at the Melanders counter on the other side of the hall. Faal Tiikkaja has been working in the hall for a few months, so the first Christmas in the Östermalm hall is ahead.
“It’s wonderful here, mysigt!” he says.
Melanders Restaurant Manager Daniel Pramberg says that Christmas is also the most important time of the year for them.
“It’s hard and crazy. We do everything ourselves. Herring and salmon are our biggest selling items at Christmas. Of course, Easter and Midsummer are also important, and in Sweden practically the same dishes are eaten at all parties. However, Christmas is the largest in terms of orders. ”
According to Pramberg, a regular order at Christmas can be as follows: Christmas ham, 30 slices of salmon, 40 princes and 40 meatballs.
“Of course, many people buy our finished Christmas package.”
The package includes herring, salmon, mustard, ham, jansson temptation and skagen röra.
Daniel Pramberg says that during the pandemic, store orders began to grow but restaurant sales weakened. “We lost what we lost at restaurants.”
Faal Tiikkaja continue to set the herring in place and pull up their sleeves.
A tattoo showing a map of Finland is revealed on the right hand. There is a black dot near Tampere. He then pulls up his left sleeve and reveals the cavalcade Moomin Characters.
What is it about?
It turns out that Faal Tiikkaja, who has lived in Stockholm all her life, is half Finnish. Finland and the Finnish language are important, which he illustrates by changing the language from Swedish to perfect Finnish.
“I speak Finnish to my son. We visit Finland four times a year to meet my grandmother. Unfortunately, it was not a success during the pandemic, ”he says.
Jan Wiklund has recently moved into running the Betsy Sandberg Choklad & Glass store, founded in 1926. He holds in his hand a popular Christmas table treat, a marzipan pig.
Eve is also the busiest day of the year for those who like a chocolate and ice cream shop To Jan Wiklund.
“On the eve, the hall is closed, but the eve is our biggest day. Then there is chaos here, far too many people at this time. ”
Chocolate and ice cream shop sales have remained good throughout the pandemic. The pandemic year was actually better than usual, Wiklund says.
“Sweden has had a slightly different policy than you. Less restrictions. What is right, what is wrong is hard to say. ”
The Wiklund store makes high-quality chocolates and ice creams that are made by hand in the store’s factory outlet in Lidingö outside Stockholm. At Christmas, a selection of confectionery is on sale, given as gifts by both private individuals and especially companies to their employees.
In Sweden It is estimated that this Christmas, Swedes will buy Christmas presents worth SEK 21 billion (EUR 210 million), according to Svensk Handel, a trade employers’ association.
That means a gift budget of just over € 300 per person. The figure is in the same range as last year, which means, according to the organization, that consumers are still relatively cautious.
According to Statistics Finland, the gift budget for Finns is roughly in the same range.
It soon becomes clear with what enthusiasm the people of Stockholm rush to the market hall on the eve of the eve or whether the fear of omikron freezes the shopping spree. Boutique keepers seem ready for both outcomes.
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