Celebrations

This year we’ll be enjoying three Christmases. My mother and her husband came for the holidays (and, well, left already) and we had a little celebration with them.

Next, on Christmas Eve, will be Swedish Christmas, which Husband’s family (his parents, his siblings, their spouses and children) celebrates in the standard Swedish way. Big midday meal, a smörgåsbord if you will: ham, meatballs, sausages, red cabbage, pickled herring, lox, Julmust (Christmas soda), mulled wine, beer, hard liquor, Saint Lucy saffron buns, homemade chocolate candy, and gingerbread cookies.

And Rice Krispie treats because that is, I kid you not, what they requested I bring. Not my American Christmas favorite, the labor-intensive, pretty, and delicious three-layer peppermint brownies, the recipe for which was my grandmother’s, but plain old Rice Krispie treats, which have just three ingredients, require only a microwave, and take ten minutes. I’d made them for Little Girl’s birthday party or something in the past and the Swedes were just totally enchanted by what they interpreted as a fancy, exotic delicacy, and now it’s the only thing they request from me.

Anyway, after the food will be Donald Duck. I know that sounds weird, but the entire nation of Sweden watches old, badly-dubbed Disney cartoons at 3 PM on Christmas Eve. Then Santa (aka Tomte, aka Farfar, aka the children’s grandfather) will visit. Personally I think it is kind of weird to have a real Santa come in your front door—it seems hard to keep up the illusion that he is “real” when it is obvious it is their grandfather in a costume—but it’s fun nonetheless and maybe less creepy than the American version.

After that the four of us will come home and put out milk and cookies for Santa to come, well, again, to our house, down the chimney, in the night, in secret, with his reindeer, like he’s supposed to, because the next day will be American Christmas, with the whole waking-up-to-filled-stockings-and-big-presents tradition. My favorite! So that’ll be nice.

Last week I took the children to see Santa. He was at our regular grocery store/building supply store. The two times I have done this in Sweden it has been much simpler and nicer than in the US. No waiting in line, no exchange of money, you can take as many pics as you want. This year the guy was very fun and spoke English, putting Little Girl at ease, and had a helper who made a candy-based Christmas-ornament craft with her. We hung out for a while with Santa—on a Saturday afternoon right before Christmas—and no other kids showed up!

And the shortest day of the year has passed, meaning from here on out there will be more and more light every day. Also very exciting!

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