Swedish word of the day: Kristi himmelsfärdsdag
The Swedish word for Ascension Day, the day Jesus is believed to have ascended to heaven, is 'Kristi himmelfärdsdag'. Here's the background behind the Swedish name for the holiday.
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Kristi Himmelsfärdsdag literally translates as Christ's heaven travel day, which pretty accurately describes why the day is celebrated. You might also hear it jokingly referred to as Kristi flygare, or Christ the flyer.
It always falls 40 days after Easter, which also means that it's always on a Thursday – it used to be known as helgetorsdag or Sacred Thursday. Like Easter, the date is decided based on the cycle of the moon, so the date varies each year.
The etymology behind the name of the holiday is interesting, as the word Kristi is actually a unique genitive form of the Swedish word for Christ, Kristus.
Don't miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.
Speakers of languages with cases, like German or most Slavic languages, will know that the genitive case is used when talking about possession.
In English and in Swedish this is expressed by adding an -s to the end of the person or thing who the object belongs to (e.g. the man's house, or mannens hus) – so Kristi Himmelsfärdsdag should be written literally as Christ's journey to heaven day or Kristus Himmelsfärdsdag.
In Latin, however, the genitive form of Christus is Christi. In religious contexts, Swedish has imported this form of the word as Kristi, meaning that you'll often see it in religious phrases and names like Jesu Kristi Kyrka av Sista Dagars Heliga (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church), Kristi brud (the bride of Christ) and Kristi kropp (the body of Christ).
Himmel, the second bit of the word, is the Swedish word for sky and heaven, while färd is the word for travel – it has the same root as the fare in English farewell, which was originally a way of wishing for someone to have a safe journey.
Finally, dag is the word for day. Unlike many Swedish holidays, Kristi Himmelsfärdsdag is celebrated on the actual day of the holiday rather than the evening or afton before.
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Example sentences:
Kristi Himmelsfärdsdag firas den 29 maj i år.
Ascension Day is celebrated on May 29th this year.
De flesta svenskar gör inget särskilt på Kristi Himmelsfärd.
Most Swedes don't do anything in particular on Ascension Day.
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