Every country has different Christmas traditions, but Zara Larsson says one of the most beloved traditions in her home country of Sweden involves something very American.
“Every Christmas [Eve] at 3 p.m., we have Donald Duck’s Christmas on TV and you just have to sit down and watch it,” she explains.
“Everybody’s watching it. I don’t know when it started. It’s been my whole childhood and everyone — everyone — just sits down, 3 p.m., you watch Donald Duck, then you have your dinner, and then you open your presents.”
In fact, the animated special, which is officially titled Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas, has been shown every Christmas on Swedish TV since 1960, and is watched by around 40% of the entire population. The show originally aired in the U.S. in 1958 on ABC, under the name From All of Us to All of You. However it was retitled for the Swedish market because Donald Duck is way more popular than Mickey Mouse in Sweden, for some reason.
But if Swedes celebrate the holiday on Christmas Eve, what do they do on Christmas Day?
“So Christmas, like the 25th — that’s when everybody goes out clubbing!” Zara says.
Looking ahead to the end of December, Zara is one of the artists who’ll be performing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2026 with Ryan Seacrest, airing Dec. 31 on ABC.
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