With barely eight hours of light a day and that time diminishing every week, it is easy to feel the darkness of winter overcome everything else.
The way Swedes combat this issue is with strong alcohol of course, and also by celebrating many different festivities with light. Every house here has a star, representing the morning star, and advent candles displayed in the windows. It seems magical when walking through the streets at night here, so many lights are adorned through the streets and of course with every window filled with at least a candle, the light makes its way through the darkness.
Today was the first day of advent. I have never celebrated advent before so it was interesting to learn. To learn what each candle represents, click on this link:
We can draw the conclusion by this comical Swedish Chef YouTube clip that Swedes obviously don't know much about the American holidays, so I am here to change that!
This is actually going to be the first Thanksgiving dinner I
have been in complete charge of. During previous years, the most responsibility
I had was setting the table and making the mashed potatoes so this year I’m
taking a huge step up!
The first thing I had to do was to make a menu. The ambassadorial meal consisted of turkey, a sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy ,stuffing, a green bean casserole, a spinach casserole, strawberry and banana jello with marshmellows on top, corn, cranberry sauce, a nice loaf of bread, a green leafy salad, and for desert, a scrumptious pumpkin pie. Once I put all of these delectable foods on paper, then I had to make a grocery list including all of the items I would need for each and every one of those dishes, and also to translate some of the names into Swedish! For instance... turkey... can anyone guess what that is in Swedish?... (it's Kalkon!) I had a pretty fun time running around the grocery store trying to find things like sweet potatoes and artichoke hearts!
The next task on my list that makes my Thanksgiving just a tad more difficult than the norm is the fact that after I got all of the ingredients, I had to convert all the measurements, including size, weight, and temperature! Lots of work but when we were eating it was totally worth it!
Finally, the big day was here. After a week of planning, watching video after video and reading page after page of how to cook a turkey and keep it moist, and more planning, my test was upon me!
I started preparing the turkey at 10 a.m. on the day of our Thanksgiving. I decided to go with a pesto dry-rub, (it was delightful by
the way). I prepared a bed of veggies for the turkey to rest on, and then it
was time for the dirty work. (The rest of this paragraph is not for the faint
of heart!)I stuck my hand in and took out
the giblets and washed the turkey off, which actually wasn’t too bad. After I
made sure that the blood was gone and then the turkey was dry, I commenced with
the seasoning. I watched a few videos, like I said before, and the advice I got
from them was that I should peel the skin apart from the meat, and rub the
mixture in there! After a nice coating of pesto on the meat, I put the excess
around the outside of the skin. After THAT Maja helped me brush melted butter
over the bird to get a nice crisp skin. I set the oven to 246 degrees Celsius
(475 degrees Fahrenheit) and put the turkey, covered, in at that temperature
for 20 minutes to crisp the skin and keep in the juices. After that twenty
minutes I turned the oven down to 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) and
slow-cooked the turkey for 20 minutes per pound. Our turkey was 5 kilo, (Approx
11.5 pounds) so it was in the oven for 3.6 hours!
The turkey being taken care of for a few hours, I had time
to prepare for the rest of the evening. I cleaned up the kitchen, decided a
place to have the table so that all nine eaters could sit together, and set it
all up.
I had written down all of the recipes for the casseroles and
everything else on paper, with the converted measurements to ease up the
process a bit. I found dishes for each item, and started finding the
ingredients and putting them together to again, ease the process. The turkey
was going to be ready around 4 pm, so I wanted to start preparing the
casseroles so they could be put right into the oven after the turkey came out..
that way the turkey had 30 minutes to rest while the casseroles had 30 minutes
to cook.
When Caroline and Alicia showed up, that’s when I started
feeling a little pressure, it was coming down to the final hour and I would now
see if all of my planning had paid off. All the women worked together on the
finishing touches, making the salad, completing the casseroles, warming up the
stuffing, peeling and mashing potatoes, it was a beautiful sight I’m sure!
Time was up for the turkey, now was the scary part! I was
sure that something horrible was going to happen, like in the movie Christmas
Vacation with Chevy Chase and how when they cooked the turkey and it got so dry
that it exploded! I was positive that was going to happen to me! Anyway, I
couldn’t find out how it was until 30 minutes after it had rested so I waited
painfully for that time. With the casseroles in the oven and the turkey
resting, the only thing left to do was to wait. During this time I called
everyone into the kitchen and told them the story of Thanksgiving. First I told
them about the Pilgrims and how they didn’t know how to grow food to last in
America, and they were all dying of starvation and sickness that first winter.
Then I told about how the kind Native Americans came and showed the Pilgrims
how to grow corn. When the Pilgrims had enough to eat, and they survived
happily that next season, they decided to throw a feast, Thanking the natives,
and God for being alive and well. Then I went on saying how nowadays we
celebrate Thanksgiving with the same kind of attitude, how we celebrate what we
have, where we are, who we are with, and how thankful I am that I can be in
Sweden this year celebrating it with them.
When everything was done at once, my head was spinning.
First we took out the casseroles and set them on the table, then everyone
gathered around to watch me cut the turkey. I had also watched a few videos on
how to do this properly, and unfortunately for me I was the only one of the
group that had any kind of knowledge on how to do this. Before I started, Greta
came to me and told me that I could use these BEAUTIFUL knives that’s handles
were made of elk antlers. I felt so proud at that moment! My first cut was into
the leg. It was going fine until I hit the joint, which I could not for the
life of me cut through. Goran stepped in and also tried to cut it but it was impossible,
so I took the drumstick in my hand and twisted the leg off! It probably wasn’t the
prettiest sight but it got the job done! Then I sliced half of the breast off
and started cutting that into small pieces, I snuck-tasted a piece and to my
relief it was PERFECT, tasty and moist! With the turkey sliced up and on a
platter, we all came to the table and sat down. I told everyone that this is
when traditionally we would say a grace and I asked Goran to read off a paper
that I had written down a thanksgiving poem on. The ‘grace’ been said, we
started filling our plates! Everything was absolutely wonderful, and I think
everyone enjoyed… everything!
And after we started to slow down on the actual meal, round two came with the pumpkin pie, which everyone also enjoyed thoroughly.
All and all, this was a very successful first, (first for the Swedes, and my first Thanksgiving put on all by myself) Thanksgiving! I'm so happy that I could enjoy my favorite holiday with my Swedish family, and I am so thankful that I have them here with me, and that I have gotten the chance to meet them!
This weekend I was invited to come and stay with the au pair that lived last year with the family I am living with now, Alexandra from Poland. She is living in Malmö now with her fiancé. The last time I was in Malmö was when I had to go down to the migration office to get my Swedish work visa done. I had not seen much of the city then and I wasn't there for that long so being able to come again and spend a few days was awesome! I left Helsingborg by train a little before lunch, and 40 minutes later I was in Malmö! (Not too far!) I lucked out with a beautiful sunny (but brisk) day and after I met up with Alexandra and dropped my things off at her apartment, we took the bikes and started off on a tour of the city!
Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden, and since it is so far South, there has been a lot of international influence on the city. Besides being constantly changed from Danish to Swedish, since it is so relatively close to the other countries of Europe, it has been exposed to different styles.. etc.
On our tour around Malmö, Alexandra showed me all sorts of things. First we went to the shopping streets which were bustling in preparation for Christmas and then we biked around different squares and through cute alleys. We passed by a castle and the Maritime Museum, and we stopped by a quaint fresh fish market! (Pictured above) Then we went out to the waterfront to look at the long bridge that connects Sweden to Denmark. I love looking over the water to Denmark, Even when I'm in Helsingborg and it's a clear day it really makes me smile to know that I am in a foreign country, so close to another!
Saturday night we were invited to an International foods Girl's night. When Alexandra and I were in the shopping area, we went to the Polish shop so she could make a Polish cheesecake, and then we went to the American Store where I bought white bread, peanut butter, and jelly (for sandwiches of course). We met up with some friends and we all took a yellow bus just outside the city to where this night would take place. In total there were four ethnic groups represented. There were girls from Kenya, Poland, Iraq, and then there was me representing America. We all cooked together and listened to fun music, and interesting conversations, and even did a little dancing! It was so much fun, I loved every bit of it!
After a fantastic evening with wonderful company, Alexandra and I headed back to her apartment and went to bed. The next day Alex had to work, but I was able to sleep in a little. I took the bike out again and tried to tour some more of the city on my own but I was afraid of getting lost so I didn't venture too far. Then I went to the gym where Alex works, at a gym/water park! It was really fun! After she got off work we both biked home again and we made homemade sushi for dinner. All and all this weekend was a ton of fun! And very international as well.
This week I noticed a pretty big difference
between Sweden and America, and that difference is how we celebrate Halloween. Halloween
to me is October 31st, celebrating the seasons of fall and the
spirits that come with it, acknowledging the deceased and their spirits,
dressing up, trick or treating, candy, scary looking food, and scary movies.
Even though Swedes do (kind of) celebrate Halloween, this was not a traditional
holiday in Sweden until the 1990’s. I asked a few Swedes if they were
celebrating Halloween, and all of them replied with “When’s that?” In Sweden, the major focus this time of year
is a traditional holiday called All Saint’s Day.
This weekend
I went up to Varberg to join Ivar and his family with celebrating his 19th
birthday. On the night of his birthday we went to the cemetery to visit
deceased relatives. At first I didn’t understand why we were going there that
night, but I soon learned that we were going to honor them due to the special
holiday of All Saint’s Day. As we walked through the graveyard I noticed that
many graves had pine branches covering them and candles lit. It was a very beautiful
display! But there is more meaning behind the decorations from what I just saw
on the surface of course. I looked All Saint’s Day up online and I found that,
“From the 11th century, 2 November was dedicated to all the dead, of
whatever standing, and was called All Souls’ Day. It was widely observed by the
populace, with requiems and bell-ringing, but was abolished with the arrival of
the Reformation. In 1772, All Saints’ Day was moved to the first Sunday in
November and in 1953 to the Saturday between 31 October and 6 November.
In olden days, graves were decorated at Christmas time, when small
candle-lit Christmas trees were placed on the graves of young children. In the
20th century, however, people began putting lighted candles on the graves of
the departed on All Saints’ Day. This custom originated with wealthy families
in towns and cities. But after the Second World War, it spread throughout the
country, beginning in the Stockholm region. Churches also began holding
services of light to mark the day.” (Agneta)
I also chuckled when
I read this:
“In southern Sweden, outdoor work is nearing completion,
while in the north, All Saints' Day marks the first day of winter and the
traditional start of the alpine ski season.” (Tidholm)
Here is the website that I
looked up to find exact facts about All Saint's Day:
I really enjoyed being able to experience this holiday, and it is something that I wish to bring home with me as a new tradition for my family. This almost reminded me of Dia De Los Muertos in the Hispanic culture, but less of a party and more simply paying respects towards the deceased.
Tidholm, Po, and Agneta
Lilja. "All Saints' Day." SWEDEN.SE - The Official Gateway to
Sweden — Features, Facts, Music, Film. The Swedish Institute, 2004. Web. 06
Nov. 2011.
<http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/All-Saints-Day/>.
