We are really enjoying the opportunity to experience Jul (that means Christmas, not July-- very confusing at first) in Sweden. It is fun to experience the different traditions and decorations.
The center of our town is all lit up for Christmas and is very pretty.
Decorating for Christmas is more understated here than in the US. I really like the simple elegance. You don't see big inflated Santas or lots of color. Most of the lights are white. While you see a few lights on the outside of houses or yards, mostly people light up their windows. One very popular decoration is the Christmas star. Most are paper and they come in many different sizes and styles. They are placed over a hanging light bulb or on a standing light like a lamp shade. They are very popular and very beautiful.
Stars in a store window
A typical house in our neighborhood
Wreaths of various shapes and sizes are also popular. I've seen quite a few wreaths made of moss-- sounds kind of weird but they can be quite pretty.
The other really common decoration is the Advensljusstake-- or Advent light holder. They are usually shaped in a triangle with 7 electric candles in them. You also see one of these in nearly every home
A typical Adventsljusstake
An apartment building in town with many Adventsljusstake.
I don't understand why these electric advent candles have seven candles. Most families also have a set of real candles that they use to mark Advent, but in that case there are only four candles. Starting four Sundays before Christmas, a new candle is lit each week to count down until Christmas. Even at school, they light real advent candles.
An example of Advent candles
A sort of strange Swedish tradition is the Julbock-- a Christmas goat that if I understand correctly predates Santa as the gift deliverer at Christmas time.
Julbocks are usually made of straw and come in many different sizes.
Someone got creative and made one out of evergreen branches for their yard
There is a town in Sweden that builds a huge julbock in their town square every year. Then the tradition is that half the people try to protect it and half try to burn it down and people wager on how long it will last. Some years it makes it until Christmas. This year it was burned the very first week of December. (And yes, if you are wondering, it is a punishable crime to burn it down).
The Swedish Santa is called Tomte. ( Forgive me if I get any of this wrong, I am far from an expert on Swedish culture. I'm just sharing what we've been told.) There isn't just one-- they are gnomes that live under houses or in the woods. Historically they were believed to protect the farm and animals if you gave them a gift (rice porridge). Gradually it merged with Santa traditions and Tomte became the gift deliverer at Christmas time.
Tomte
Another example
On Christmas Eve, Tomte does not come down the chimney while the children are asleep. Instead, he knocks on the door during the day's festivities. He comes in and tells jokes and often makes the children sing songs or otherwise perform to get their gifts. While Tomte is looking more and more like Santa all the time, the traditional Tomte is a rougher character, kind of like a tramp. As one friend said, "He's an ugly sucker! Scares the heck out of kids!"
Sankta Lucia program at work
December 13 is Sankta Lucia Dag (St. Lucia Day). It is very widely celebrated in Sweden. Towns, schools and even work places have processions. Both our kids watched processions at their schools. T and I were able so see one at his work. A school choir came and did it for them, and we hear that is common. It is a beautiful tradition. The girls all wear white dresses with red ribbons around their waists. The boys wear white robes (they sometimes wear conehats decorated with stars but these boys did not-- I can't blame them.) They all carry candles. The procession is led by one girl who represents St. Lucia and has a crown of candles in her hair. And yes, they are real candles (except at G's school where the 6-year-olds did the program and they used battery-powered). They walk in singing the traditional Sankta Lucia song, then perform a number of other Christmas songs and then walk out again.
Apparently the procession also sometimes includes tomten and pepparkaksgubbar (gingerbread men) but they don't seem as common. G was the only one who saw those in a procession. We found it interesting that they sang many religious songs-- something you'd be very wary of doing at a school or workplace in the US. That is quite ironic since there are many more people that are religious in the US. Sweden is a very secular country and though St. Lucia was a martyred Christian saint and they sing songs about Mary and Jesus, they don't view any of it as religious. To them, it is just tradition. And the Sankta Lucia holiday is mostly about light in the dark winter to them.
