Tjugondag jul or Tjugondag Knut (Finnish: nuutinpäivä) is a traditional festival celebrated in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 on January 13. It is not celebrated in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 despite being named for Saint Canute

Canute IV of Denmark

Canute IV, later known as Canute the Holy or Canute the Saint , was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne. Slain by rebels in 1086, he was...

, the patron saint of Denmark. The days between Christmas and Tjugondag jul are filled with holidays. Christmas tree

Christmas tree

The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...

s are taken down on Tjugondag jul, and the candies and cookies that decorated the tree are eaten.

On Tjugondag jul, there has been a tradition a bit analogous to modern Santa Claus, where men dressed as a goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

 (Finnish: Nuuttipukki) would visit houses. Unlike Santa Claus, Nuuttipukki was a scary character (cf. Krampus

Krampus

Krampus is a mythical creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children....

). The men dressed as Nuuttipukki wandered from house to house, came in, and typically demanded household residents for food and especially alcoholic beverages. In Finland the Nuuttipukki tradition is still living at areas of Satakunta, Finland Proper

Finland Proper

Finland Proper or Southwest Finland , is a region in south-western Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Ahvenanmaa and Uusimaa.- Municipalities :...

 and Ostrobothnia

Ostrobothnia (region)

Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions Central Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia....

. However, nowadays the character is usually played by children and now involves a happy encounter.

Dialectical proverb from Noormarkku

Noormarkku

Noormarkku is a former municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and was part of the Satakunta region. The municipality had a population of 6,158 and covered an area of of which is water. The population density was .Noormarkku is the birthplace of the Ahlstrom...

says: Hyvä Tuomas joulun tua, paha Knuuti poijes viä or "Good [St.] Thomas brings the Christmas, evil Knut takes [it] away."