Can we scream Yayyyy!!?

YAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It happens to be around my birthday, which can be a big bummer some years since everyone’s forget. But who cannot resist the decoration! And the food! And the cookies!

Mmmmmm….coookiiiess…..

If you’re celebrating Christmas on the 24th and opening gifts, you don’t have a lot of time! Suckers. In the interim, I spent a few fab days with Morgan of Your Living City making epic cute Christmas gifts.

They’re easy, they’re cute and they are homemade. You cannot throw away homemade gifts; like Grandma’s sweater.

Teacup Candles

What you need:
Teacups – Perfect time to use the old, mismatched sets.
Candle wax – Buy at any craft store like Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michels or Panduro in Sweden
If you’re in Sweden, it’s cheaper to buy already made candles from Åhlens (blockljus röd, grön, vit, bourgogne) than the A-te Ljusmassa
Wicks – found at any craft store.
1-2 skewer sticks or a pencil you’re willing to part from – to stir wax
Two pots – to use as a double boiler

Melting candle-wax:
Chop the wax into small pieces (1 cm is fine), this is especially important if you want use a blockljus or remaining wax from used candles. I used a very sharp knife to shave all the candles down and place in a small pot.

In a larger pot, fill 1/3 way up with water. Turn the stove on to medium high to bring the water to a low boil.

Put the small pot in the larger pot and ensure the water level is no more than halfway up on the small pot. You do not want to get water in the wax.

This can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes to melt all the wax depending on how big your pot is.

While the wax is melting, set each teacup with a wick. The bought wicks are great because they have a metal bottom and will hold weight.

After the wax has melted, pour the hot wax into each teacup, no more than halfway up. After the wax cools, you will have to add more wax since it sinks and contracts.

Finish melting your wax!

Warning!
Be careful when melting wax. Do not microwave wax and always use a double boiler when melting it on the stove. A double prevents fire and allows for even heating of the smaller container.

Check out Your Living City’s article for more details.

Cake Tier Stand
A cake tier stand is another wonderful gift that’s not only homemade but also environmentally friendly. Made from old plates and glasses, you can make a stand that’s as many tiers as you want and in any style: glass, porcelain or even silver.

What you need:
Strong glue
Plates of various sizes
Glasses – these should be at least 4in (9cm) tall so the trays have enough room to hold goodies

Wash and dry all the plates and glasses.

Glue two at a time. That means, glue one plate to one glass and let rest for a 3-4 hours.

When that’s done, you can glue those sets together.

See Your Living City’s post for the full story.

Indian Cooking Class
Run by yours truly, give the gift that keeps on giving. Send your friend, mom, dad, brother, cousin, husband, sambo, wife, dogsitter, secretary, coworker to three nights of Indian food. You’ll cook, you’ll fall in love and you’ll stuff yourself.

Standard class is three nights with 7-9 dishes to learn. Includes a recipe book with 25 recipes. They’re from my mom so you know they’re awesome and delicious.

Custom classes can be organized at a common center or friend’s house, or can be a different number of nights with your favorite Indian dishes.

Contact me for details and pricing. I’ll be checking my mail regularly until the 25th so it’s still time to give something cool to someone you love and love to get a meal from.

Happy holidays!

Tinna hails from Isafjördur in the West Fjörds of Iceland but is a true globetrotteur. Please check out Tinna’s blog (in Icelandic) and post a comment if you a question or experience to share!

Jólahlaðborð – Julbord – is something that co-workers and groups of friends do in the advent, usually at restaurants and hotels. There they’ll find most of the food that will then be eaten at Christmas. This is usually not a family thing, and more of a drunken ordeal with over-eating and dancing through the night.

Laufabrauð – Leaf bread – is traditionally from the northern parts of Iceland, but in the last 50 years or so the custom has spread and it is common for families to meet up in the weeks before Christmas to cut beautiful patterns in the leaf thin bread that is then deep fried. I’ll send pictures this week!

Kjötsúpa – Meat soup - is really not eaten at Christmas anymore, although I know that some people in their 50s and older have grown up eating meat soup for Christmas. It is actually really interesting to see how the traditions have changed in the last 50 years. Turkey of course is the newest addition to our Christmas tables, and I think more and more people eat it every year, but then perhaps on the 25th or New Year’s Eve.

Today, ptarmigan and glazed ham (hamborgarhryggur) are the most common dinners on the 24th, hangikjöt with white sauce (kind of bechamel) and potatoes on the 25th.

The leg of lamb is something my father grew up eating at Christmas. He grew up on a farm, and the Christmas luxury in the 60′s involved eating fresh meat, not smoked or salted, on the 24th. Often the meat was stuffed with dried apricots, prunes and dried apples (this is actually insanely good, but not really done anymore).

Brúnaðar kartöflur – Caramel potatoes - is a side dish that I think it is safe to say that is on every family’s dinner table sometime over the holidays. It is sooo sweet but is surprisingly good with the savoury meat. Basically you boil a bunch of potatoes, remove the skin and let them cool for a while. Meanwhile you slowly heat 50 g of sugar in a big pan until it starts to melt, then add the butter and stir until combined. My grandmother also adds a splash of cream, which is delicious. The cream can not be to cold though, then the caramel will get angry. Also be careful that the potatoes are completely dry before you add them to the pan. Cook until potatoes are warm and be careful not to get burned by the piping hot caramel.

Jólagrautur – Rice pudding - is traditionally just risgrynsgröt, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. This is a dish now eaten year round, but some families still eat it at Christmas as well. Many have turned to the sweeter Ris à l´amande, served with cherry-sauce (as in Denmark) or with warm sauces made from blueberries or crowberries. It is perfect as a dessert and in some families (mine for example) an almond is hidden in one of the bowls of Ris à l´amande. The person who gets the almond is supposed to keep it hidden for as long as possible and then gets a small present for winning the almond.

Christmas dessert varies a lot though, so many have home made ice cream or just some delicious and super advanced things that they finally have time to make as they are on holiday.

Rjúpa used to be eaten all winter long by families living in areas where they were common and easy to get. I think it is just in the last 40-50 years that they have become Christmas food. 10 years ago or so, the ptarmigans were getting dangerously few, so ptarmigan hunting has been severely limited since then.

We bake a lot of cookies (smákökur) in December, not only piparkökur. The different sorts are too many to count, but the remarkable thing is that cookies are basically only baked before Christmas. People in Scandinavia would recognize most of the cookies, as they are a version of Danish/Swedish/Norwegian småkakor, but I’m not sure if they are common in the US for example.

Kleinur and skyr are not really Christmas food, although they are certainly also eaten at Christmas. There is not really a tradition of glögg here in Iceland, it is at least clearly Scandinavian to us. We do drink a lot of hot chocolate though.

On the 23rd of December we celbrate Þorláksmessa, which is the mass of the only saint Iceland got before we stopped being catholic and became protestants back in the 1500s.

The tradition of eating fermented skate on the 23rd apparently has it’s origins in the West Fjords, and has just spread to other parts of the country in the last 30-40 years. Not everyone eats the skate
(understandably) and the smell gets stuck in your clothes and irritates the hell out of people living in apartment buildings for example. It is served with potatoes and hamsatólg (melted lamb’s fat (I KNOW!! YUK!)). I prefer having a few slices of rúgbrauð (rye bread) and a lot of butter with my skate.

Festivities

The festivities start on the 23rd, with the eating of skate. This is also the day when most families decorate their Christmas tree. On the 24th, aðfangadagur, Christmas arrives at 18:00. Before that people are busy taking their Christmas bath, finishing the food for the evening and wrapping the last of the presents.

Then at 18:00 the holy hours begin, lasting through Christmas day.

Christmas mass is usually at 18:00 and then sometimes there is a “midnight” mass at around 21:00. Many families sit down to eat their dinner at 18 sharp, but some wait until normal dinner time at 19h or 20h. Most families that don’t go to church on the 24th will still listen to the Christmas mass on the radio at 18:00.

After dinner and cleaning up, we gather around the Christmas tree and open up our presents. This can take a long time, as everyone is supposed to look at and admire each others new things. Afterwards it is common to open the Christmas cards (I open mine when they arrive though) and read them over a cup of coffee, some chocolate or smákökur.

This is the holiest of nights, the 24th, so no playing cards or board games. Though during pre-Christianization, there was a lot of drinking, merriment, and playing cards during this time of the year.

On the 25th, jóladagur, many go to church again (it’s still very holy). The 25th and 26th, annar í jólum (the second day of Christmas) are very common for family gatherings and the eating certainly continues. The family gatherings often continue in the week between Christmas and New Years, so Christmas feels really long.

There is absolutely no Boxing Day or mellandagsrea in Iceland. We take our Christmas seriously and spend it with family, not running around in shops. Oh, and there is no getting drunk and partying, not until the 26th at first.

In my family we have a big tradition of playing board games in the days between Christmas and New Year. Friends and family come over and eat mandariner and smákökur over games of Trivial pursuit, Risk, Sequence etc. This is pretty common across families.

New Years is also spent at home with the family. It is not until after midnight people would go out to meet friends and go dancing.

Christmastime is incredible dark and long for us in Iceland so we take the holidays seriously. It is a time to splurge on fresh meats and sweets, since these were/is luxury items and reflect upon the year with families.

If you have always wondered about girls wearing candles on their head, this is the holiday to do so!

A rather unusual Luciafirande at Erikdalsbadet, one of the major swimming houses in Stockholm

via http://www.dn.se/sthlm/har-kan-du-lyssna-pa-luciasangen-i-dag

A bunny’s lucia by Matsamats

Typical Luciakonsert

And on this day, the luciatåg (Lucia participants) give out lussebullar (saint lucia buns or saffron buns) and glögg (mulled wine) to guests.

Here’s my recipe for lussebullar for both American and Swedish kitchens. The difference is that the Swedish recipe has quark (a hung yogurt) while the American one calls for more butter. Saffron dries bread out easily and the quark/butter does a good job of keeping the buns soft and moist.

Still if you make them, plan to eat within a day or two and keep them well stored and away from air.

American St. Lucia buns recipe
1 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. saffron threads, finely crumbled (or 1 tsp. powdered saffron)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 pkg. dry active yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
6 -6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
raisins to decorate
1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk for brushing the buns – can omit

See directions below.

Svenska lussekatter recipe
50 g (1 3/4 oz.) yeast
5 dl (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) milk (I use 3%)
150g (5 1/4 oz.) butter
250 g (8.8 oz.) Quark (called kesella in Swedish), a kind of curd cream
2 dl (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 envelopes saffron (1 gram) or a large pinch of high quality Spanish saffron
1 teaspoon salt
16-17 dl (6 3/4 cups) flour, probably more if the dough is sticky
Raisins for garnish
1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk for brushing the buns – can omit

Heat the butter and milk in a saucepan until warm to touch. If you have a thermometer, it should be around 36-37 degrees but no more.

Crumble saffron threads into melted butter/milk. Let sit for 15-30 minutes to an hour. This intensifies the saffron flavor and cools the butter/milk down if it was too hot.

Crumble the yeast in a large bowl. Pour a little of the warm milk mixture in bowl and mix until all the yeast has dissolved. Mix in the rest of the liquid. {If the liquid is too warm it will kill the yeast. Hence I go for the lukewarm method – just warm to touch. And cold liquid will also kill the yeast.}

Mix kesella, sugar and salt.

Combine two together (yeast/milk/butter and kesella/sugar).

Start adding the flour a little at a time and work the dough until smooth. Add more flour until it stops being sticky. The dough should be soft to touch.

Cover the dough with a moist paper towel (keeps the dough from drying out) and let rest and rise at room temperature. About 45-60 minutes.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it a few minutes. Again, the dough should be light and fluffy to the touch.

To make it easy to keep the roll sizes even, divide the dough into 25-28 pieces.

Stretch out dough into a “snake” (long piece) and then twist the ends towards the center. One end is twisted clockwise, the other counterclockwise.

The buns should look like giant letter “S”-ess. Put them on a sheet that is lightly greased or lined with baking paper.

Press the raisins in the two centers and then let ferment additional 15-25 minutes to double the size. This second rise should not be forgotten!

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Whisk up an egg with a tablespoon milk and brush the buns with the mixture. You can also skip this if you want to keep the buns vegetarian.

Bake in middle of oven about 5-10 minutes until they become golden brown. Watch them carefully so they do not burn! Don’t leave the kitchen, these buns are fast cooking and require no more than 10 minutes to bake.

Remove the buns and let them cool on a grate. Nice and warm, they’re ready to eat now!

Enjoy lussekatter with a glass of milk or glögg.

Glögg (Mulled Wine)
If you cannot buy mulled wine at the store, you can easily make your own.
This recipe makes around 8-10 little cups for friendly faces and uses a full bottle of wine.

You can adjust the recipe accordingly to your preferences and tastes.

1 bottle red wine
1-2 cups rum (dark is more flavorful)
1 cup sugar

Spices:
1 Star Anise
4-10 Cardamon pods or 2 tsp Cardamon powder
3-4 Cinnamon sticks broken into pieces or 1 tbsp Cinnamon powder
4-5 Clove pieces or 1 tsp Clove powder
1 inch piece Ginger – smash or chop into little pieces to make easier to diffuse
1/2 small Bitter Orange
1/2 tsp Nutmeg – can skip
2 tsp Dark chocolate Powder – can skip
Raisins and blanched almonds – for each cup. A surprise yummy in every cup!

Mix the wine, sugar, and all the spices and put on medium low heat. Keep the rum for later.

For the first 5-7 minutes, stir so the sugar dissolves.

You can then put the wine on low heat (setting 3 or 4 on a dial of max 10) for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan and it doesn’t boil.

Add the rum and increase the heat to medium. Stir for another 10 minutes. It’s important to not let this boil since the alcohol will then burn off and disappear.

Strain the liquid and serve hot with a few pieces of raisins and almonds in each cup.

Enjoy glögg with piping hot lussebullar and Christmas music by candlelight and you’ll be celebrating St. Lucia Day Swedish style!

Families have a julbord on Christmas Eve but companies also have a julbord at a Christmas party. If you will be celebrating julbord with your company or family, I created a Swedish to English guide to all foods served at the dinner.

You can download two different versions: a three page guide in pretty larger font or a two page guide (perfect for front and back printing) in small font.
Pretty three page julbord guide
Easy to print two page julbord guide

Feel free to share and print the guide as much as you want with friends but please give credit and share the link love.

And here’s the guide below to enjoy. There are over 130 delicious foods! {Okay… lutefisk is not so tasty} Just remember to pace yourself, or your stomach will blow up, literally. :-)

The Swedish Julbord is traditionally had in “plates” versus courses. Each plate has a different theme: herring, fish, cold meat, vegetables, etc. Today it is not strictly observed and you can condense/mix plates.

First Plate
SILL & STRÖMMING

1. Inlagd sill – Pickled herring (not surströmming!)
2. Rökt matjessill – Smoked herring with spices
3. Matjessill – Herring with spices
4. Senapssill – Mustard herring
5. Löksill – Onion herring
6. Ansjovis – Anchovies
7. Currysill – Curry flavored herring
8. Havtornsill – Sea-bucktorn herring
9. Sherrysill – Sherry flavored herring
10. Tegnérsill – Herring w/ crème frâiche and chili
11. Chilisill – Chili flavored herring
12. Apelsin- och rosmarinsill – Orange- rosemary herring
13. Kräftströmming – Baked herring with dill and tomato puree.
14. Ansjovisströmming – Baked herring with anchovies, cream, onion, and dill.
15. Kaviarströmming – Baked herring with caviar
16. Ört- och vitlöksgravad strömming – Baked herring with herbs and garlic.
17. Löjromsströmming – Fine Swedish caviar with herring. Mixed with sour cream, mayonnaise and spices, served cold.
18. Stekt inlagd strömming – Fried pickled herring
19. Matjessilltårta – Herring pie made w/ eggs
20. Löjromsägg – Hard boiled eggs topped with Swedish caviar
21. Skagenägg – Hard boiled eggs topped w/ shrimp
22. Laxägg – Hard boiled eggs topped with salmon
23. Sillsallad – Herring salad

Second Plate
LAX & FISK – SALMON & FISH

24. Gravad lax – Cured salmon
25. Kallrökt lax – Cold-smoked salmon
26. Varmrökt lax – Smoked salmon
27. Portvinslax – Salmon infused with port wine
28. Inkokt lax – poached salmon
29. Laxtartar – Raw salmon (similar to steak tartar)
30. Laxpaté – Salmon pate
31. Gubbröra – “old dude’s salad” – hard boiled eggs with anchovies, red onions, dill and sour cream.
32. Rökta räkor – Smoked shrimp
33. Kräftskagen – Crayfish sandwiches – made with dill, sour cream, caviar.
34. Skaldjursterrin – Shellfish soup
35. Confiterad röding – Char confit
36. Skaldjurssallad – Shrimp and mussel salad
37. Pastramilax – Sauteed lax with four peppers and honey/citrus
38. Hovmästarsås – also called gravlaxsås – Mustard sauce with dill
39. Honungssenapscrème – Honey mustard cream
40. Pepparrotsdressing Citron – Horseradish citrus dressing
41. Chilicrème – Chili cream
42. Örtagårdssås – Garden herb sauce
43. Saffrans- och apelsinaioli – Saffron- orange aioli

Third Plate
KALLSKURET – COLD MEATS

44. Julskinka – Christmas ham
45. Rullsylta – Rolled thin flanks (pork, veal) boiled
46. Kalvsylta – jellied veal
47. Leverpastej – Liver pate
48. Lantpaté – Chicken liver with spices
49. Fasanterrin – Pheasant terrine (slow cooked soup)
50. Rökt lammstek – Smoked lamb
51. Lammterrin – Lamb terrine (slow cooked soup)
52. Pomeransjulanka- Christmas duck w bitter orange
53. Kycklingleverparfait – Chicken liver parfait
54. Kycklinggalantine – Chicken galantine w veal/pork
55. Renkorv – Reindeer sausage
56. Älgkorv – Elk sausage
57. Tjälknöl – Norrlands elk. Baked in the oven on low heat for several hours
58. Fårfiol – cured, salted leg of mutton (sheep)
59. Kroppkaka – Potato, meat dumplings

Tillbehör – side dishes

60. Våra senapsfavoriter – Selection of mustards
61. Cumberlandsås – Cucumber salad
62. Cornichons – French pickles
63. Äppelmos – Apple sauce
64. Syltlök – Onion relish
65. Pepparrot – Horseradish
66. Picklade grönsaker – Pickled vegetables
67. Apelsin- och aprikoschutney – Orange, apricot chutney
68. Västeråsgurka – large, famous, salty pickle
69. Pressgurka– sliced pickle w pepper, vinegar sugar
70. Rödbetssallad – Beet salad
71. Syltad svamp- Mushroom preserve

Fourth Plate
SMÅVARMT – LITTLE HOT FOODS

72. Köttbullar – Swedish meatballs
73. Isterband – Pork potato sausages
74. Kåldolmar – Cabbage rolls filled with rice
75. Revbensspjäll – Roasted pork ribs
76. Julgryta – Christmas stew with figs, cinnamon and tenderized cow shoulder pieces
77. Prinskorv – Prince sausage
78. Janssons frestelse – Jansson’s Temptation – Casserole of potatoes, cream, onions, anchovies.
79. Dopp i grytan – Sauce made from leftover bits of christmas ham. Bread is typically dipped into this
80. Wallenbergare – Ground veal, cream and onions
81. Lutfisk – lye fish – salted/cured white fish; gelatinous in texture, has a pungent odor.
82. BBQ-rökt oxkarré – BBQ smoked meat
83. Vedugnsgrillad pomeranskyckling – Wood fired roasted chicken with bitter orange.

Tillbehör – side dishes

84. Rödkål – red cabbage
85. Brunkål – Boiled and fried white cabbage cooked with vinegar, salt, and syrup
86. Långkål {grönkäl} – Kale
87. Lutfisksås och kryddor – Lutefish sauce with spices
88. Gröna ärtor – green peas
89. Stekta champinjoner – sautéed mushrooms
90. Kokt potatis – Boiled potatoes
91. Kokta rotfrukter – Boiled root vegetables
92. Brysselkål – Brussels sprouts
93. Rårörda lingon – Mashed lingonberries

Fifth Plate
GRÖNT – GREENS

94. A variety of salads are served. Ginger (ingefära), rödkål (red cabbage), romaine (romaine), morot (carrot), betor (beets), fänkål (fennel), granatäpple (pomegranate), nötter (nuts) are popular ingredients.
    Greens are not a big part of the julbord though.

Sixth Plate
OSTAR & BRÖD – CHEESE & BREAD

95. A variety of local Swedish cheeses (Västerbottenost, Boxholm, Smålandsost, etc) and international favorites are served.
96. Vikabröd
97. Mjukt tunnbröd – Soft flatbread
98. Hårt tunnbröd – Hard/crispy flatbread
99. Surdegsbröd – Sourdough
100. Vörtlimpa – Christmas bread – dark bread with christmas spices
101. Kavring – Dense, dark rye bread
102. Husåknäcke – Huså’s (a company) crispy bread
103. Valnötsbröd – walnut bread
104. Fikonbröd – fig bread
105. Veteknäcke – Wheat crispy flat bread

Seventh Plate
DESSERT

106. Ris à la Malta med mandel – Cold rice pudding whipped with whipped cream and almonds
107. Grynkaka – cold rice pudding with saffron
108. Fruktsallad – fruit salad
109. Mandelmusslor med hjortron – Almond cookies with cloudberry jam
110. Småländsk ostkaka – Småland’s cheesecake
111. Chokladmousse – Chocolate mousse
112. Kryddbavaroise – Spiced bavarian cream
113. Päron- och mandelkaka – Pear-almond cake
114. Crème caramel – Flan
115. Äppelterrine med kanel och hasselnötter – Apple terrine with cinnamon and hazelnuts (usually has no flour)
116. Mandarinmousse – Mandarin orange mousse
117. Saffranspannkaka – {Gotland} Saffron pancakes
118. Frukter – an assortment of winter fruits like dadlar (dates), fikon (figs) and satsuma oranges

Tillbehör

119. Vispgrädde – Whipped cream
120. Rårörda bär – Berry sauce
121. Saftsås – Saft sauce

Eight Plate
KAKOR & GODIS – CAKES & TREATS

122. Klenäter – Swedish small fried pastry dough – similar to donuts, possibly originated in Germany
123. Struvor – Rosette-styled deep fried pastry (donut)
124. Chokladtryffel – chocolate truffle
125. Ischoklad – mini chocolate cup candies
126. Knäck – Crack – hard coffee
127. Pepparkakor – Gingerbread cookies
128. Marsipan – Marzipan
129. Blandade nötter – Mixed nuts
130. Marmelad – Marmalade
131. Saffransskorpor – Saffron biscotti
132. Nötskorpor – Nut biscotti
133. Hallongrottor – Thick cookies with raspberry jam
134. Kladdkaka- Gooey chocolate cake

And make the julbord food yourself with Real Ordinary Swedish Meal Time

I put together a list of questions and answers on how Christmas is celebrated in each of the countries. This is thanks to my friend EC who bombarded me with similar ones by email and chat.

When is Christmas celebrated?
United States – 25th – Christmas Day. In the morning families enjoy sticky/cinnamon buns for breakfast. After breakfast they open presents, starting with the stocking. Stockings are the large “socks” hung over a fireplace. They have small goodies, especially candies and favorite snack in there.

Christmas dinner is similar to the Thanksgiving dinner. There is mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread, pies, cookies, but instead of turkey most families have a honey baked ham.
Sweden – 24th – Christmas Eve. Families start the festivities by watching Kalle Anka Önskar God Jul, a Disney collection of songs from the last sixty years. During the show, they eat pepparkakor and drink glögg (Swedish mulled wine). Then for dinner, Swedes partake in the famous Christmas smörgåsbord called Julbord; which is a collection of different foods.

On Christmas Day Swedes rest and enjoy a smaller meal.

Do you go caroling?
United States – Yes, it is common in neighborhoods with children that kids and parents go door to door singing Christmas songs. At the end of the evening, the group gathers at a home for hot chocolate and cookies.

Sweden – It’s very uncommon. But, in church, families gather to sing songs.

When do you put up the Christmas tree?
United States – The weekend after Thanksgiving which falls on the first Advent.

Sweden – On the third Advent or after. It is not uncommon to put up the tree just a few days before Christmas Eve.

What are the most popular decorations?
United States – Wreaths, Christmas lights, and stockings. And when it snows, there’s always Mr. Snowman.

Sweden – Christmas stars to represent the town of Bethlehem and candle lights. Both are displayed in the windows.

What kinds of sweets do you eat?
United States – Cookies are most popular during the holidays. Everything from traditional chocolate chip to peppermint bark to decorated sugar cookies. Candy canes are well known to hang on the tree and of course eat.
Sweden - Swedes are not big on cookies but they enjoy other treats. The only cookie exception is gingerbread cookies called pepparkakor. The Swedish version are thin and crispy and more spicy and flavorful than the American counterparts, which are chewy-soft and sweeter.

Saffron buns, or lussebullar, are soft rolls made with saffron, kesella (quark), and touch of sugar. Swedes also enjoy a hard candy called knäck, literally meaning crack. It is hard toffee candy and can be flavored with almonds or exotic spices.

What kind of drinks do you have?
United States – Eggnog is a classic love-hate Christmas drink. Made with eggs and cream and flavored with anything from rum to cinnamon, eggnog is one of those drinks you imagine Auntie Georgia getting smashed on.

Similar to Swedish glögg, there is mulled wine and mulled cider. They are flavored with the traditional Christmas spices: cinnamon, clove, cardamon, star anise. For children there is hot chocolate with whipped cream and/or marshmallows. I’m a total kid; I love a dollop of whipped cream with dark hot chocolate.

Sweden – Glögg is the ubiquitous choice of drink to have on any cold afternoon or evening. Drop a few raisins and blanched almonds and you have the perfect strong drink to survive the Swedish winter. For toasting and Christmas dinners, there is aquavit or snaps. Children and non-drinkers can enjoy julmust, a Christmas cola soda, or a non alcoholic version of glögg.

What food do you leave out for Santa (Jultomten)?
United States – Cookies and milk. Any sort of cookie will do but most popular are sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and gingerbread cookies.
Sweden – Risgynsgröt. It is a rice pudding with cinnamon and brown sugar. Some tales call for a pat of butter on top of the pudding to ensure Jultomte does not break out in a rage.

What does Santa (Jultomten) look like?
United States – The American version of Santa can be credited to the Dutch’s Sinterklaas, cartoonist Thomas Nast, and folklore from other countries.

The modern version of Santa we know today is based on Coke-Cola’s creation by Haddon Sundblom in 1931. He based the modern day St. Nick on Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly called “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) and Nast’s work from 1862.

Santa Claus is seen as jolly, fat, well tempered and with a large white beard and red outfit.

Sweden – Santa is known as Jultomten in Sweden and julnisse in Norway. Jultomten derives his name from tomte, a small man living in a farm who worked using magic. The tomte could be very kind and bestow gifts but also very moody and sometimes borderline sociopath. In folktales he’s known to kill a cow out of anger for not receiving his pat of butter on risgrysgröt and beating those who do not keep the house/farm well.

Jultomten however has a better temperament than the tomte. The name Jultomten came into use somewhere around the 1500-1600s. He rides on a giant goat, like Thor, and hands out presents.

Today’s Jultomten are similar to the American Santa Claus who is a fat, jovial, old man riding a sleigh. But you can still find the traditional jultomtar statues in the store; big hat, lots of hair, little nose, and faceless.

Note: Anyone who has more knowledge about how Jultomte derived his name from tomte and what he looked like in Sweden let me know. It’s tricky finding good information about jultomte in Sweden.

You can guess that our home is an amalgamation of both cultures with a dash of Indian (lots of color!) and Jewish (rugelachs, latkes and when younger, dreidels).

More reading on Christmas

http://gd.se/extra/nuardetjuligen/1.241333-sa-kom-jultomten-till-sverige

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jultomte

I put together a comprehensive guide to having a Christmas in Sweden and abroad. Even if you don’t have access to thousands of tomtar, you can still incorporate Swedish traditions into your own traditions.

There’s so much food and decor to enjoy during the holidays, but it is all about family and giving back to the community.

Swedish Christmas Decorations

If you are in Stockholm, then I highly suggest shopping at Stockholms Stadsmission to get secondhand Christmas ornaments. You can see from the photo there is plenty of pretty decorations at a good cost, and doing the Earth a favor by recycling.

Julstjärnor – Christmas Stars

The stars represent the town of Bethlehem.

Julbocke – Christmas goat

The Christmas goat is said to check on families that Christmas decorations were done properly. Some folklore tales say the Yule Goat scared the children and demanded gifts.

In Nordic mythology, Thor rode on his chariot with two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. In the Prose Edda, he kills the goats and provides his guests and the gods food. With his hammer, Mjölnir, he resurrects the goats the next day; creating a cycle of sustenance and nourishment.

Lights

Ornaments

Of course you need ornaments for your tree!

Candles

From Design House Stockholm and you can buy them in the US. It’s dark, it’s dark, it’s dark, candles are a must; any size, any style.

Julgran – Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is put up on the third Advent and stays up until Knutsdag (twentieth day yule) on January 13th.

Kalendarljus – Calendar candle

Jultomte – Santa Claus

Julgris – Christmas pig



Reindeer

Who doesn’t love reindeer?!

Swedish Food

Julskinka

A recipe from ICA.


Julsenap

Lussebullar

Yummy saffron buns! Recipe to come soon!

Glögg

You can buy several different flavor from Systembolaget or make your own using wine, vodka or rum.

Pepparkakor

I’ll be posting a recipe quite soon!

Aquavit – Snaps

Julmust

Swedish Christmas Holidays

Christmas Calendar