Christmas in Sweden
Hello loyal readers.
Well today is the 25th of December. Merry Christmas, you say? No. In Sweden we celebrate on the 24th, so really, I’m feeling a little ripped off. Santa did not come on the 25th, as he has done every other year. I’m beginning to think that he might have forgotten that I celebrate it today.
Aside from my displeasure with the man in the red suit, the Swedish Christmas yesterday was nice. It was strange at the same time though, because I didn’t have the same Christmassy feelings inside of me that I usually get around this time of year. Don’t get me wrong- it was a lovely day, but rather than feeling like Christmas it felt like a nice family gathering with lots of good food and people speaking a language I understand about 30% of. Much fun was had though.
Now sit back and relax as I begin my long recount of the day’s events.
As soon as I woke up, Anette (David’s mum) and Maria (his sister) and I went to the gym. The gym, on Christmas morning? Yes, I shared the same facial expression and level of disbelief as you. It was crazy. We had to get there half an hour before the gym opened because it’s in quite high demand. It sure was a sight to be seen- wish I had my camera. A hall of approximately 130 people on Christmas morning jumping and jiving around, doing push-ups, sit ups and all other manner of exercise moves, all to the tune of christmas carols! There were 2 instructors wearing santa hats. They were really cool.
That morning I came to 2 conclusions. Firstly, that I was going to die and not live to open my christmas presents due to exhaustion, and secondly that I am incredibly uncoordinated first thing in the morning. I almost ran in to Maria several times, and must have looked like a complete moron. You can’t really blame me though. I couldn’t understand what the instructors were saying, so for example when they said “ok! now to the right!”, I’d still be jumping to the left, and consequently surprise whoever I was standing next to at the time.
It did the job though- I didn’t have much of an appetite at all after that, and could barely move my arms to pick up any of the delicious Christmas food. It was like going on an exercise-related diet, or deathwish, whichever way you see it.
After the morning Richard Simmonds session, we arrived back home, greeted with rice porridge with cinnamon and sugar, and some Christmas ham on an assortment of bread. I didn’t really feel like eating but I had a token spoonful of it none the less. The funny thing about the Christmas ham is that it’s stored outside, because the outside temperature is colder than the refrigerator this time of year!
After breakfast we drove to Stockhom, which is where David’s Auntie Ingrid and Uncle Kjell live. It was really cool to see their family again. Last time I saw them was midsummer, which was over a year ago now.
At 3pm everyone stops to watch donald duck cartoons. Don’t ask why (i’m still questioning that myself), but it’s the most watched television show in Sweden. It’s dubbed in Swedish, from the original English versions of different little snippets of well known walt disney cartoons. Strange.
(This is a photo of a little boy that was adopted by David’s cousin. It was his first christmas and he was enjoying climbing over the mountain of presents).
After that it’s present time. Present time is a joyous occasion. Before getting your presents, you have to read a cryptic poem that’s written on the present, which is meant to help you guess what it is. You’re meant to take a good stab at it before you’re allowed to open it. My presents were all really awesome. I got some gloves from mum, and heaps of other awesome stuff like art supplies and a weekend away with David to a Japanese spa resort thing, with his sister and her fiancee. David gave me so many presents! I must have been really good this year. I got some ice glass moulds that you put in the freezer, some fake snow (because I wanted to see snow for Christmas, haha), some lovely silver earrings, and a bizarre monkey thing that dries your fingernails (he has my taste in strange gifts down to a fine art these days). I gave David a remote control helicopter that he’s crashing in to the wall as we speak. Not sure that he has a successful career as a pilot ahead of him any time soon. Got some more memory for my camera also, which is really nice to have.
Then it was food time. The traditional Swedish Christmas julbord (or Christmas smorgasbord) has 7 courses if I recall correctly. It starts with Cookies and Cake with coffee and tea (which we had as soon as we arrived), then you go on to have cold herring, followed by other cold fish such as salmon, then cold meats such as ham, then hot meats life spare ribs and meatballs, then some other random fish stuff. Lastly you have some rice porridge (the same as breakfast), and then (because you’re so hungry after all of that) you have some more biscuits and cake, and some more coffee and tea. All of that is accompanied by Swedish Schnapps which you drink after singing Schnapps songs, and Christmas Beer, and Christmas Cola.
An interesting fact is that Sweden is the only country in the world where coca cola sales actually drop at Christmas time, because they love their own special Christmas cola so much. I personally don’t like it too much, because it’s so sweet. Kjell brewed the Christmas beer himself, which was pretty good. The Schnapps doesn’t seem to agree with me much, especially “Bäska droppar” which is SO HORRIBLE I can’t believe it. Some of the other ones are quite nice though, but generally burn your mouth out.
Mum and granny called around 10pm, which was really nice. It didn’t make me feel very homesick, which was quite a surprise. Probably because it didn’t really feel like christmas for me. I was just hoping that everyone else back in Australia was going to have a nice day. I guess homesickness just comes and goes as it pleases, regardless of what sort of a day it is.
Anyway, after all of that we drove home and collapsed in bed around 2am. I tried to sleep on the way home but was feeling a little too motion sick (or sick from too much food- not sure!). I was pretty stiff and sore from all of the exercise in the morning, and I still am today!In the next few days we hope to drive to Norway to go skiing. I’ll keep you updated on that one. Not sure what we’re doing for new years yet. Apparently David’s going to see what his friends here are up to.
And as an aside, here’s a photo of my new snow boots so that you can see that I’m still alive: