Between tradition and transformation: Alcohol and youth celebrations in Sweden

For many years, alcohol consumption among Swedish youth has been declining. Today, nearly half of all 15–17-year-olds have never tried alcohol, and three out of four in this age group say they rarely or never drink at all. At the same time, even among this increasingly sober generation, there are still certain moments throughout the year when alcohol remains part of the cultural script.

According to IQ’s latest report in the series “Rus & unga”, focusing on young people’s drinking habits, New Year’s Eve stands out as the single most common drinking occasion among 15–30-year-olds. Across the entire age span – from the youngest to those approaching 30, eight out of ten say they drink alcohol to ring in the new year, making it the clear number-one celebration for alcohol consumption.

But the “holiday hierarchy” looks different once you dig into the different age groups. One of the clearest trends in the report is the growing importance of Halloween as a drinking occasion, particularly among the youngest respondents.

Halloween

When it comes to Halloween, the numbers reveal a distinct pattern. Nearly half of all 15–17-year-olds (46 percent) report drinking alcohol on Halloween, making it their fifth most common drinking occasion. Among 18–24-year-olds, the figure drops to 36 percent (seventh place), and among 25–30-year-olds it falls further to 26 percent (tenth place).

It is one of the fastest-declining holidays as age increases. The pattern is unmistakable: Halloween is a youth-centric drinking occasion that “ages out” quite rapidly.

New Year’s Eve

While Halloween fades in popularity with age, New Year’s Eve remains firmly at the top across all age groups. Midsummer comes in as a close second, followed by trips with friends, Walpurgis Night (especially prominent among students), and the traditional Swedish celebration kräftskiva – the late summer crayfish party.

These patterns partly reflect different life phases represented in each age group. The youngest group is not yet working and often has fewer opportunities to travel, simply because they lack their own income. Similarly, the oldest group is hardly affected by end-of-school celebrations.

Despite an overall decline in how often young people drink, the calendar still exerts a strong pull, and New Year’s Eve is the one occasion almost everyone agrees on.

Lucia

Lucia Day celebrations sit at the very bottom of today’s list of drinking occasions among young people. Only 5 per cent report consuming alcohol during Lucia, meaning it has largely disappeared as a drinking-related celebration. The tradition persists only marginally among 18–24-year-olds, but even there fewer than one in ten mention Lucia as an occasion to drink.

Social settings matter

If young people are drinking less overall- which they are – why does alcohol remain so closely linked to specific celebrations?

The report gives a few clues:

• Social settings remain important, with parties and gatherings among friends as the most common drinking contexts
• Holidays function as permission structures, carrying built-in social expectations often reinforced by adults.
• Tradition continues to carry weight, even among a health-conscious generation.
• For students in particular, Walpurgis Night remains a defining event.

Changing tides

At the same time, the cultural meaning of drinking is undergoing a clear shift. Only 6 per cent of young people today think that drinking alcohol is “cool”, while a larger share (16 per cent) describes it as somewhat “sleazy” (“sunkigt”). Three out of four say they can have just as much fun without alcohol, and nearly 9 out of 10 say they could give up alcohol for a whole year if they got something in return. Sixteen years ago, only about half said the same, pointing towards an enormous shift in attitude.

This tension between longstanding traditions and rapidly changing norms is one of the most striking dynamics revealed in the data.

Taken together, the findings point to a generation that:

• Drinks less frequently
• Associates alcohol less with identity
• Sees health as an increasingly strong reason to abstain
• Still responds to the pull of major celebrations

The article is written by David Wahlund, Press & PR Manager at IQ

at the request of PopNAD