On Christmas Eve, this country gathers to watch Donald Duck cartoons

Donald Duck welcomes Princess Tiana to the Magic Kingdom in October 2009. Donald is the focus of one Sweden's annual Christmas traditions. (photo by Walt Disney World)

Today, while millions of people across the globe are making last-minute shopping trips, wrapping gifts and baking goodies in preparation for Christmas, there is a place where half the country sits down to watch Donald Duck cartoons. Seriously.

As much as we love Disney World and Disneyland, it’s not Americans who collectively watch Mickey’s pals on Christmas Eve. But in Sweden — every year since 1959 — at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24 about 50 percent of the population gathers to watch Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas, reports a recent Slate online post.

The author, who experienced the cultural event firsthand, describes Kalle Anka (the shortened name of the show in Sverige): “The show consists of Jiminy Cricket presenting about a dozen Disney cartoons from the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, only a couple of which have anything to do with Christmas. There are “Silly Symphonies” shorts and clips from films like Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and The Jungle Book.”

During the viewing on public television, the country pretty much shuts down, he writes. Can you imagine that happening here — for a 51-year-old cartoon?

Read the fascinating story and also see a Kalle Anka clip here.