How are you all doing with your Christmas shopping? Almost done, or barely started? I am usually almost done by this time of year. To be honest, I’m mostly done this year too, but it’s all due to effort in the last week or two. Normally I start way earlier than that (say, March or April), and am basically done by now. It’s been a weird year… Tonight I took the time to wrap some of the presents I’d bought. I usually…
Today I want to wish everyone a happy St. Lucia’s Day (or St. Lucy’s Day, as I think she’s more commonly called in the anglosphere). St. Lucia’s Day is a pretty integral part of the holiday season up here in the North, as a celebration of how the light will soon be returning after the solstice. I’ve heard that the 13th used to be considered the solstice and that was why we celebrated on that day, but I’ve also heard…
A particular Christmas favorite here in Sweden is the lussebulle (lusse bun), also called lussekatt (lusse cat). It’s a sweet saffron bun, usually with a couple of raisins in it and shaped as a braid or a sort of S (like in the photo below). My mom baked these earlier, and gave us some so we can have some tomorrow on Saint Lucia’s day, which is the day traditionally associated with lussebullar. A lot of people, including me until a year or two ago,…
Another double post today. I had a lovely day yesterday, but long enough that I couldn’t write straight in the evening and opted to go to bed without blogging. One of the reasons I had such a long day yesterday was that I helped my mom with selling Fair Trade stuff at a Christmas market nearby. Even though the weather wasn’t optimal yesterday (slushy snowfall all day and no real sun), I still always enjoy a Christmas market. The atmosphere,…
Hi guys! Last night I decided to forgoe my blogging on the basis that I came home past midnight and had had quite a bit of wine. We had our office Christmas party, which was why. Or well, more of a Christmas dinner because apart from drinking, we don’t really do much partying during them. It’s very common here for workplaces to have a Christmas dinner or party in the weeks before Christmas. I have to admit I quite like…
Lol, I almost titled this post Christmas Chicken for some dang reason. Focus, Emma! Anyway, I finally got my kitchen Christmas-ready. Nothing special but I like it: It’s hard to see on the photo but the curtain has cross-stitch hearts on it. I’m glad I finally got them up, because the room looks so naked without curtains and I’m having guests over this weekend. Which also means I’m baking gingerbread cookies soon! And I’m sharing the recipe with you guys…
That’s right, we have Christmas mooses here in Sweden. Bet ya didn’t know that! See: Jokes aside, these are probably my favorite reoccuring Christmas deco downtown. They’re usually standing around the fountain in Hötorget but there’s some construction going on there now so they are outside Kulturhuset instead. A male, a female and a baby you can’t see because the photo is bad. They’re so pretty though! So big and sparkly, like fairy mooses. My other blog has a book…
Glögg is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Few things say “cosy and Christmassy” to me like the scent of glögg. So what is glögg? Glögg is spiced, heated red wine (or sometimes other beverages), which is usually consumed during the Christmas season. Since it’s wine-based, it has a relatively high alcohol content, but it’s usually served in small cups, about the size of espresso cups. Often, almonds and raisins are submerged in it and eaten during…
Today is the second Sunday of advent. The advent candle holder below is a Swedish classic. You light one candle on the first Sunday, two on the second etc. I hope you all are having a wonderful, calm day. Over on my main website, today I have advent boosted an awesome fantasy romance novel! Check it otu!
I’m a bit tired today, so I’m keeping today’s post brief and just telling you about a Swedish tradition: every year, in a city called Gävle, they eract a big straw goat for Christmas called Gävlebocken (the Gävle goat). Most years, it is burnt down by some random person. Some years it isn’t, but that tends to be the exception to the rule. Although of course, if caught, the person doing the burning will likely be charged with vandalism by arson or…