God Jul!

Merry Christmas! Or as we say here in Sweden, God Jul! (pronounced: Good Yooool)

I spent this special holiday with the Brandts and their family on the island of Gotland. I had such a wonderful experience, and now I get to share a piece of it with you!

Swedes celebrate their biggest moment on Christmas Eve; this is when the whole family comes together to eat, watch Disney cartoons, sing and dance, and this is when their Santa comes to greet and give gifts to all.  

Christmas Eve we took a walk around the historic village of Visby. I hadn’t been there since this summer and it was great being able to see it again but this time with Christmas decorations out, (but unfortunately, no snow). We eventually came to a church, where the feeling of holiday spirit was at its highest for me. I lit a candle for my grandfathers among other relatives and hoped that somehow they were able to enjoy this day with me. After about an hour spent in town, we headed back to Mormor’s (grandma’s) to watch Disney cartoons and fika. Those both are serious Swedish traditions. The watching of Mickey and the gang is a part of Christmas here, and if you haven’t watched it, it’s not truly Christmas. They have a special Christmas program at 3 o’clock and it shows a collection of the classics. It was great watching those again, most of them I haven’t seen since I was an itty-bitty.

When it was time for the big celebration, we all headed to the farm house and joined in the rest of the family for a big feast and for merry-making. They had set up a big, long table in the dining room and all 18 people were able to sit around it. The Christmas table was filled with all sorts of fun food; hard boiled eggs and caviar, red beet salad with egg crumbles on top, hard and soft bread with cheese, all sorts of herring, Johnson’s Temptation which is composed of potatoes au gratin and anchovies, ham, potatoes, home-brewed ale, shnapps, Julmust, and many other things that reminded me dearly that I am in Sweden for this holiday. (And recipes that I plan on bringing home with me for next Christmas in the states)

As you can see from the videos I have posted, during dinner there were several songs sang and cheers made. This part of the dinner really reminded me of the crayfish feast that I had attended this summer!

After dinner we participated in singing and dancing traditional Swedish songs! I have also posted a few videos of this, I found it quite fun and amazing that they do these things… I have never experienced anything like this before, and I would love to do something like this again! 

Christmas morning was quite a difference for me. I woke up with the urge to run downstairs and conduct the usual Christmas morning ritual of seeing what's in the stocking, and what is under the tree. It was a strange realization when I remembered where I was, so far from home, and that we weren't going to be doing the typical American celebration. 

For a moment or two I was saddened by the fact that I wasn't with family back home, but that I remembered that I had such a wonderful time the night before and that I need to enjoy every moment I have here. 

Christmas Day was also spent with family and loved ones, but the focus on the holiday was gone. I took a nice walk with Alicia and her cousin Isabelle, we walked along the coast and walked on a pier. I still can't get used to living on the water, it amazes me with every sight! 

Hope your holidays went well, and wishing you the best for the new year!