Gløgg

Red wine, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves — the Scandinavian Christmas tradition from Swedish glödgat vin (glowing wine), documented since the 13th century.

Gløgg is the Scandinavian tradition of mulled wine, prepared and served during the Christmas season across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, each country contributing regional variations on a shared template of red wine heated with spices and often fortified with aquavit, brandy, or port. The word derives from the Swedish glödgat vin — glowing wine — referring both to the warmth of the heated drink and to the hot charcoal method originally used to prepare it. The practice of heating wine with spices traces to the ancient Romans, who added honey, spices, and resin to wine for both preservation and palatability; the technique spread through northern Europe during the medieval period and was documented in Scandinavian household records from the 13th century onward. The spice profile that defines Scandinavian gløgg is distinct from German Glühwein or British mulled wine: cardamom — a spice native to the forests of South India and widely used in Scandinavian baking and cooking — plays a prominent role alongside cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel, giving the drink a warmer, more exotic aromatic quality. Blanched almonds and raisins soaked in the wine are traditional garnishes in Swedish glögg, served in the bottom of the cup to be eaten with a spoon after the wine is consumed. The tradition of gløgg service at the first Sunday of Advent through Christmas Eve remains one of the most consistent seasonal rituals in Scandinavian domestic life.