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Christmas
in Sweden by Henrietta Skov
I had a hard time deciding what I
should write about: Christmas in Sweden at the Tai Pan Hotel in Vientiane,
Laos, or Christmas in Farabol, Sweden with the family. Both places
invoke wonderful memories. In Europe, when you do something more
than twice, it becomes a tradition, so I guess we could say that Christmas
in Sweden has become a tradition. Christmas in
most countries of Europe lasts at
least three days. Most people take vacation
between Christmas and New Year which
gives them several extra days.
Since most businesses are engaging
in Christmas parties and lunches
at that time anyway, the skeleton
staff at work is no deterrent to business
activities - everyone is out enjoying
the Christmas season.
We usually leave in the morning of
December 24. Our first stop is to take
our poor dog to the kennel.
He has been in the same kennel over Christmas
for three or four years now, and
does not seem to mind. He just ³talks²
non-stop when we pick him up on
the 26th. We then take the bridge or
the ferry to Helsingborg and
drive for about one hour to our Christmas
destination with family. Compared
to the U.S., Europe seems so small.
You can drive through several countries
in one day.
The ride through the barren, wintry
Swedish countryside is illuminated
by all the lights and Christmas
candles, both electric and wax candles.
The people of Sweden do not draw
their curtains, so although you cannot
and would not look into people¹s
houses, the warm lights in the windows
m as you drive through the small
villages and farmlands give a warm comfort
to an otherwise barren environment.
After we arrive in Sweden, we greet
everyone with a handshake and the
usual small talk. You do not
wish anyone a Merry Christmas until you sit
down at the dinner table.
Our destination is a very small village with 12
houses. One of the members
of our family live in a large, renovated
one-room school house built somewhere
in 1800. But that is a story
in itself.
Once the greetings, hugs and handshakes
have finished, we go into a
warm, cozy room where we are
greeted by the warm, flickering flames
from the fireplace. The large
straw reindeer decorated with red ribbon
stands in his usual spot in the
vicinity of the fireplace. This reindeer was
a fixture of the house and the new
owners have allowed him to retain his
place - a tradition, you know.
We then unpack. Since laundry appears to
be a big issue here, we have to
bring our own bedding, which is always a
challenge. Do our sheets fit
their beds? My pillow cases are long, the
European pillows are square, so
the pillows come along as well. For
four people, we seem to be able
to fill the station car quite easily. Everything
is put into place and we begin the
Christmas traditions as we have for the
last four years.
So, what does Christmas Eve
consist of? That is when most of Europe
celebrates Christmas.
We start with gløgg (Glühwein
or Hot Apple Wine) and cookies
(gingerbread cookies, brune kager,
Swedish cookies, hazelnut cookies
or aebleskiver). The gløgg
is kept hot in a pot on the stove and the glasses
(special gløgg glasses which
resemble Irish coffee glasses). You receive
a glass of gløgg and one
or two teaspoons of slivered almonds and raisins
which are simply delicious when
they have been soaking in the warm wine.
The drinks are served with a teaspoon
so you can easily scoop out the
raisins and slivered almonds.
The rest of the afternoon is spent preparing
for the big event - the Christmas
Eve dinner.
The Christmas Eve dinner for this
family consists of a mixture of Danish and
Swedish cuisine and can last anywhere
from three to four hours. We usually
start with fish - graved laks (buried
salmon) or smoked salmon with freshly
grated horseradish, capers, a tablespoon
of scrambled egg, and white or
French bread. French bread
may only be served with salmon, cheese and
shrimp - it¹s the tradition.
This is accompanied by a fine selection of white
wine.
We then continue with trays, bowls,
terries, and platters of roast duck and/or
roast goose, home-made pork sausage
(medister pølse), pork roast with crackling (the skin of the roast
is scored into fine strips and once the roast is ready, it is put under
the grill or very high heat until the skin is crunchy and crackling), sugar-browned
potatoes, boiled potatoes, hot pickled red cabbage and, of course, the
brown sauce. A traditional feast in this family. This part
of
the meal is helped along with a
wonderful red wine.
Now comes the dessert, an overwhelming,
satiating experience. As
is traditional, a huge (humongous
would be a more apt description) bowl of
rice pudding (ris a l' mande) which
is a combination of cooked porridge rice,
vanilla essence, whipped cream and
toasted slivered almonds. In this mound
of a dessert is one whole, toasted
almond. You must continue to eat the
dessert until someone finds
the almond so he/she can gloat over the
³almond prize² which is
usually a box of chocolates. Yes, Scandinavians
live to eat.
The tables is cleared and the festivities
continue with more wine or beer .
But first, we have to sing at least
four traditional Christmas Carols and
dance around the Christmas tree.
When I asked why we could not just
sit and sing the carols, I
was told that it was a ³traditional² to dance around
the tree. We then seat ourselves
and everyone takes one turn to pick up
one present and deliver it to the
recipient of that present. We all wait in
utter suspense until that present
is opened, discussed and admired.
This ³tradition² continues
until all the presents have been opened. If
there are a lot of people - one
year we were 18 people - we can easily
continue the Christmas Eve celebrations
until midnight after which we
pack up, tidy up and head for bed.
Christmas Day is another big event
when we start the traditional Christmas
lunch around 1:00 or 2:00 p.m.
and finish by 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.
On the 26th the celebrations
culminate with a cleanup of all
the leftovers, take a bit of a rest and then
plan the New Year¹s Activities
and meal!
Hot Tip
Cracking Walnuts:
Cracking walnuts can be a bit of
a messy chore. Try this;
Spread a few newspapers on the kitchen
table. Place a
small board (cutting board) near
the newspapers on the
table. Place the walnuts inside
the opening of an old plastic
bag. Crack each nut while
it is inside the bag, then push
it to the bottom of the bag.
When you have about eight
to ten cracked walnuts, shake the
bag a little, pour the
contents out on the paper and pick
out the meats. Push
the shells to one side and
continue cracking more walnuts.
When you are finished, just scoop
up the paper and
walnut shells and throw them out.
This procedure should
prevent the usual mess and walnut
shells flying around in
the kitchen.
Advent
Sunday
The first Sunday of Advent in Western
Christianity.
The
word
comes from
the Latin "adventus",
meaning "arrival",
and the period is one of
preparation before
celebrating the birth of Christ
at Christmas. It
marks the beginning of the Church's
year. Various customs
are associated with Advent. One
that still
survives in parts of Europe, notably
in Germany, is the hanging of Advent
wreaths.
These are rings made up of sprigs
of
evergreens such as holly and ivy,
into which are fixed
four red candles. They are hung
from the
middle of the ceiling and on each
Sunday of Advent one
candle is lit so that by Christmas
all four are
burning. In Britain in Victorian
times, the Christmas pudding
had to be made before Advent commenced.
This
was always on Stir-up Sunday, the
last Sunday before Advent,
when the pudding was solemnly stirred
in an anti-clockwise
direction by every member of the
household before it was boiled (with
silver charms or
coins hidden in it)
for several hours,
then left to mature
until Christmas Day.
First
Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2001
Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2001
Third Sunday of Advent
December 16, 2001
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 23, 2001
Thanks
be to God for his unspeakable Gift-
indescribable
inestimable
incomparable
inexpressible
precious beyond words.
LOIS LEBAR
What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give
him-
Give my heart.
CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI
(1830-1894)
Article by: http://www.eclecticcooking.com/.
Do you know how to cook a juicy salmon? How to avoid crying when cutting
onions? How to prevent avocados from turning black? Visit The Eclectic
Cooking Ezine, portal to cooking and nutrition featuring freelance writers,
doctors, and authors. Free weekly newsletter subscription: update@eclecticcooking.com
Swedish Syrup Cookies
5
oz (150 g) margarine
6-1/2 oz or 1-1/4 Cup (200
g or 2-1/2 dl) sugar
1/4 Cup (1/2 dl) syrup
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (1 dl) water
15 oz or 3-3/4 Cup (450
g or 7-1/2 dl) cake flour
In
a large saucepan melt the margarine and add the sugar and syrup; stir constantly.
Sift the flour, ground cinnamon and cloves and baking powder , remove the
saucepan from the heat and and add to the mixture in the saucepan, add
the water, and stir into a solid mass (round ball). Let the dough
rest in the refrigerator for at lest one day.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface
and use cookie cutters for your favorite cookie shapes. Bake for
about 5 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Remove the
cookies and cool them on a wire rack.
These cookies will keep well for
a long time in cookie tins or airtight containers. Makes about 150 cookies.
Orange-Chocolate Milk
(Makes
3 Cups)
1/2 liter milk
4 cloves
1/2 stick vanilla (or vanilla
essence)
a dash of freshly ground pepper
1 long strip of orange rind
2 oz (50 g) dark chocolate (ca.
60 percent cocoa)
finely chopped
Place
all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat but do not boil and stir
regularly until the chocolate has melted - you can leave the milk-
chocolate mixture over very low
heat, but stir now and again, for as long as 30 minutes. The longer
the milk mixture heats, the more flavor it absorbs. Strain the chocolate
milk and pour back into the saucepan. Whisk the mixture vigorously
and serve. You can top the chocolate milk with a tablespoon of whipped
cream sprinkled with cocoa.
Brune Kager (Spiced Cookies)
Let the dough rest for one day before you bake
the cookies.
ca. 8 - 8-1/2 oz ( 250 g) margarine
ca. 8- 8-1/2 oz (250 g) fine
sugar
4 oz (125 g) dark syrup
1/2 tsp candied peel
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2-1/2 oz (75 g) finely chopped
almonds
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking
soda)
16-1/2 oz (500 g) all purpose
flour
Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C.
In a medium-sized saucepan, melt
the margarine and stirring constantly, add the sugar and syrup, but do
not let this come to a boil.
Sift the cinnamon, ground cloves,
soda and flour. Add the candied peel and chopped almonds and add
to the warm margarine mixture.
Roll out the dough into 3 rolls (sausages),
wrap them in foil and let them rest in the refrigerator at least one day.
When ready to bake, place the rolls
on a cutting board and slice into very thin slices. Butter a baking
tray and place over this baking paper. Place the cookie slices on the baking
paper and bake at 400 F (200 C) for 5 - 10 minutes or until the cookies
are light brown. If the cookies get too brown, they will have
a bitter taste. Let the cookies rest on the baking paper for a couple
of minutes before removing them to cool.
These cookies will keep a couple
of weeks in an airtight container. Makes about 90 cookies.
Tips:
You may use pomegranate peel instead
of mixed peel.
You can reduce the chopped almonds
to half.
You can double the recipe without
any failures.
You can freeze the dough and use
it when you need it.
Hazelnut Cookies (Nødespecier)
6-1/2
oz (200 g) margarine
ca. 8-1/2 oz or 2 Cups (250 g or 4 dl) all purpose
flour
2 oz or 1/2 Cup (50 g or 1 dl) powdered sugar
1 oz or 1/2 Cup (50 g or 1 dl) finely chopped hazel
nuts
Preheat oven to 400 F
/ 200 C.
Sift the flour and the powdered
sugar. Chop the margarine into smaller pieces and with a pastry cutter
combine this with the flour
mixture. Add the finely chopped
hazelnuts and with the tips of your fingers form the dough into a firm
mass (a ball).
Roll the dough into thin sausages,
wrap in foil and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or
longer.
Cut the dough into thin slices, place
on a buttered cookie tray and bake for 6 - 8 minutes. Remove the
cookies and let them
cool in a wire rack. Makes about 175
cookies.
Will keep for a long time in cookie
tins or airtight containers.
Article by:
http://www.eclecticcooking.com/.
Do you know how to cook a juicy salmon? How to avoid crying when cutting
onions? How to prevent avocados from turning black? Visit The Eclectic
Cooking Ezine, portal to cooking and nutrition featuring freelance writers,
doctors, and authors. Free weekly newsletter subscription:
update@eclecticcooking.com
Christmas
Love Becci Irving
Through the years, and all the timesI've
spent Christmas time alone,I never knew how much I missed,Til you came
to share my home. The
magic of the season seems,To grow with each new year,The love, and warmth
you've brought to meMakes perfection seem so near.
You
bring a smile to my faceEach time we start the day,You seem to beam each
time I turnAnd steal a glance your way. With
all my love, I give to youPeace, and love to last through time.And every
year I thank the dayYou decided to become mine.
Mexican
Christmas - Joaquim Gabriel Andrade
My family and I celebrate Christmas
the Mexican way because we are all from Mexico. We begin to celebrate on
the 24th because that is Christmas Eve. We start opening presents at midnight
or the 25th in the morning.
We always have a party every Sunday
before Christmas. It is called a “posada.” It’s a party where you celebrate
the arrival of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. You have a ”piñata”
which has candy and prizes in it. We also celebrate with fireworks.
On the 24th we celebrate Christmas
Eve with the whole family gathered together: parents, grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins. We have turkey with cranberry-chili sauce, mashed potatoes,
buttered veggies, turkey soup, and cod with chili gravy. Afterwards we
have punch with marshmallows. At twelve midnight we open our presents and
after that we all go to our own houses.
On Christmas morning my brothers
wake me up to open our Santa’s presents. Then I always go to my other grandparent's
homes to spend Christmas. We eat a good meal. We break another piñata
and then we exchange presents.
The familiar Bible story about the
birth of Christ, is related every year during the Christmas season in churches
and homes. In Mexico each December the story of the birth of Jesus actually
comes to life once again, as Joseph and Mary´s search for shelter
long ago is reenacted for nine consecutive nights in the festive ritual
of Las Posadas ("Posada" means inn or lodge in Spanish). The idea
of commemorating the Holy Family's journey to Bethlehem can be traced back
to St. Ignatius Loyola, in the 16th century. He suggested Christmas novena,
or special prayers to be said on nine successive days. In 1580 St. John
of the Cross made a religious pageant out of the proceedings, and seven
years later the nine-day remembrance was introduced to the natives in Mexico
by Spanish missionaries. At first the pageants were solemn and deeply religious,
but the observances soon became imbued with a spirit of fun and eventually,
the celebrations took place in people's homes where the entire community
joined in.
The posada begins with a procession
that sets off as soon as it gets dark. Usually a child dressed as an angel
heads the procession; he is followed by two more children carrying figures
of Mary and Joseph on a small litter adorned with twigs of pine. Garlands
of colorful flowers are everywhere. Groups of boys and girls follow the
lead figures, then come the grown-ups, and last of all, the musicians.
When the procession reaches the house chosen for that evening, it divides
into two groups, one representing the holy pilgrims, the other the innkeepers.
The pilgrims line up behind the angel and the children bearing the figures
of the Holy Family, then they file through the house until they arrive
at a closed door, behind which the innkeepers have stationed themselves.
The pilgrims knock on the door and call out in song, asking for shelter.
A chorus of voices on the other side asks: "Who knocks at my door so late
in the night?"
The pilgrims respond, "In the name
of Heaven I beg you for lodging - my beloved wife can no longer travel,
and she is weary."
But the response is an unfriendly
refusal. "This is no inn. Go Away!"
After repeated requests for shelter,
the pilgrims explain who they are, and that Mary will soon give birth to
a baby. The innkeepers relent and welcome the exhausted travelers: "Enter,
holy pilgrims. Come into our humble dwelling and into our hearts. The night
is one of joy, for here beneath our roof we shelter the Mother of God."
Everyone enters the room and kneels
in prayer, after which the party moves out to the patio for fireworks and
fun. Baskets of holiday sweets, called colaciones, have been prepared
along with other food and drink. In large cities, so many posadas are held
that active partygoers can manage to attend four or five in one evening.
For eight nights similar ceremonies
are repeated. But on the ninth evening, Christmas Eve, a particularly impressive
posada takes place, during which an image of the Christ Child is carried
in by two people who have been selected as the godparents. With great reverence,
the image is laid in a tiny crib in the nacimiento. Sometimes a
Christmas Eve posada will have live people representing the Holy Family,
with Mary riding a donkey, and the procession concluding at a manger scene
set up in a field. The people in the procession carry faroles, transparent
paper lanterns containing lighted candles attached to long poles.
Although a truly Mexican Christmas
observance, the posadas have wandered north into the United States. San
Diego, California presents posadas at the Mission of San Luis Rey, in the
Old Town section, and in the Padua Hills where performances have been given
for many years. La Sociedad Folklórica continues the tradition in
Santa Fe, and Mexican-Americans in San Antonio, Texas have their processions
along the city's famed Riverwalk.
Source:
Christmas.com
In
preparation of Christmas and all the sweets that surround it, Marie Bornholm-Hansen
has provided us with this recipe for your enjoyment. Marie says this shortbread
is to die for. This recipe does not use the same conversion equivalents
we use in our recipes.
Caramel ShortbreadBase9 oz (225
g) All-purpose flour2 oz (50 g) caster sugar6 oz (150 g) margarinePinch
of saltTopping½ tin of sweetened condensed milk1 Tbsp golden
syrup4 oz (100g) margarine2 oz (50 g) sugar4 oz (100 g) plain cooking chocolatePreheat
oven to 350° F (160° C) Gas 2
Sieve flour and salt into a bowl;
chop margarine, add to flour and rub in (use a pastry cutter if you have
one). Add sugar and knead until the mixture forms a soft dough. Press into
a baking tin. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake in the middle of the
oven for 40 minutes or until light golden brown.
In a saucepan with a thick base,
bring milk, sugar, margarine and syrup to a slow boil, stirring constantly.
Boil gently for 5 minutes - continue stirring. Pour syrup mixture over
the baked shortbread and allow to cool.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler
and pour over the shortbread as the final topping. (Add a little water
to the chocolate if it is too thick, heat through before using. Allow the
chocolate to cool and set before slicing into bars.
Note: Freezes well.
Article by: http://www.eclecticcooking.com/.
Do you know how to cook a juicy salmon? How to avoid crying when cutting
onions? How to prevent avocados from turning black? Visit The Eclectic
Cooking Ezine, portal to cooking and nutrition featuring freelance writers,
doctors, and authors. Free weekly newsletter subscription: update@eclecticcooking.com
No
White Christmas and then it Snowed!
We listened to the news every day
- morning, noon and all evening. It was the week of Christmas, would it
snow? Temperatures were dropping, the skies were cloudy, no wind, ideal
winter weather, but would it snow? The reports went from 10 percent to
80 percent back to 30 percent chance of snow. Christmas came and went,
but no snow. We listened, we watched, we hope, would it at least snow for
New Year’s like it had snowed
last year? Again the percentages
fluctuated and the temperature dropped to -11° C (roughly 15° F).
No snow. Then we woke up to a white world. Sunshine! Yes! It had snowed.
Winter after all the festivities and celebrations of Christmas and New
Year’s can be so dismal, but when it snows and the sun shines, the gloom
disappears.
We decided to revisit childhood memories.
We have been down memory lane quite a few times, but never in the snow.
We dressed several layers of clothing: Woolen undershirts, t-shirts, long-sleeved
polo shirts, sweaters, ski pants, ski jackets, ski gloves, thick, wool
golf socks, boots, ear muffs and a thick, warm scarf topped the clothing
empire. I felt and looked like a warm muffin. We waddled to the car and
managed to squeeze in.
We took the scenic tour along the
coast, until we reached Dyrhaven (the Queen’s Deer Park); my husband insisted
this had the best hill in our area. He had never been there, because he
lived in another part of Copenhagen, his parents had no car and access
to this hill was not an option when he was a child. He wanted to see what
he had missed.
We forgot what parents with children
are like and never thought that parking in the winter would be a problem.
After driving around for 30 minutes, we spotted a car with red tail lights
- was he leaving? Yes! We blocked the traffic in the street and waited
for the car to pull out. The tail lights remained on but nothing happened.
The driver got out again, walked around his car and decided to remove all
the icy snow before leaving! Honestly. We pulled into the tiny parking
lot and continued to wait. Finally, the car moved out. That is when we
discovered that the spot next to this car had been free all along. Oh,
well.
We headed into the park and were
amazed at how many people had the same idea we had! Not on the warmest,
most beautiful summer day had we ever seen so many people - the place was
like an ant hill with grand parents, parents, children, cross country skiers,
baby buggies, dogs on leashes, snow
boards and sleds of every size and description. This is how people must
have enjoyed winters in Louise Alcott’s Little Women! My husband insisted
we find the big tobogganing area in the middle of the park of which he
had heard so much as a child - about a 2-mile walk! Great, after all the
holiday meals, a walk was very welcome.
We headed down the undulated path.
We passed a large pond where someone had cleared a good ice skating track.
Not too many skaters, because not that many people have skates hanging
around waiting for snow and ice. I did not know that many people had their
own skis! And all those sleds, toboggans, discs, snowboards and whatever
else you call them!
The bushes and trees were protected
by a soft layer of snow, the sky was ice blue and it was soooooo cold out
there. Denmark was alive. People skated on ponds, in the woods they skied
cross country, children tobogganed. The breath escaped in heavy clouds
from their mouths and adults were anxious to talk about and show their
children what winters were like back then when winters were cold, bitter
and long. Gone were the memories
of the 14 days before Christmas
when the days had been dark and gloomy, and icy rains had pelted the earth.
This winter evoked childhood scenes as we walked along with all ages, sizes,
shapes, and moods.
Children had red, frozen noses, red,
glowing cheeks, mittens and gloves, scarves wrapped around them, clambering
dogs sliding along, children playing ice hockey, prominent women in fur
coats, fathers flying along on sleds and toboggans with their children.
A little girl sat and cried because
her boots were too small. "We have taken the
train and bus and walked the last
2 miles to get here. Never mind the boots, when you sit on the sled, you
won’t feel how small the boots are. You could have told me before we left
home." was the father’s comment. The boys on sleds cried, "One more trip,
dad." Dad had turned too sharply to the left and they had tumbled into
the snow. Dad needed a little practice on weight control and navigating
a sled. A little boy cried. He did not want to get back on the sled and
fall in the snow. The ride down the hill was bumpy. Dad insisted he try
again. "You will enjoy it, when you know how to steer the sled," he insisted.
"I have never seen a child look so miserable as you," one father commented.
"That’s because I am cold ALL OVER
my body," wailed the little girl in reply.
The sun set its rays and Denmark
entered the cold and dark night. But the memories lingered, because it
was in the winter of 2003 when the land was smothered in white, when the
cold was hard and biting, and we had a real winter in Denmark Back indoors
he warm chocolate and æbleskiver tasted soooooo good.
Article by: http://www.eclecticcooking.com/.
Do you know how to cook a juicy salmon? How to avoid crying when cutting
onions? How to prevent avocados from turning black? Visit The Eclectic
Cooking Ezine, portal to cooking and nutrition featuring freelance writers,
doctors, and authors. Free weekly newsletter subscription: update@eclecticcooking.com
