December 31, 2024
Cold Weather in a Warm Season
Something that’s special for December is that as soon as it starts, one has almost the entire month booked for activities. There are the holidays, the usual winter activities, and of course at schools or jobs most people are trying their best to end their year strongly in one way or another, especially if they’re going on break.
On December 10th one can see some buildings in Stockholm dressed in LED lights with the Swedish flag colors as to commemorate the Nobel Day. The ceremony is widely televised, and I have heard that there are even some families that have a nice dinner themselves to celebrate this date. The Nobel prizes are awarded that same day in Stockholm, except for the Nobel Peace prize that is given in Oslo, Norway, that same date.
A difference I noticed between here and in the States is that volunteering activities or fundraisers are not as common, but there is this big charity event called Musikhjälpen.
Musikhjälpen is a week where three well-known hosts broadcast for 144 hours straight on radio and television while being locked in a studio in a square somewhere in Sweden. The broadcast is meant to raise awareness and money to for a global cause. Both the studio’s location and cause change every year, 2024 being “Everyone has the Right to Survive their Pregnancy” with the studio located on Stora Torget in Sundsvall.
There are hundreds of ways in which people can donate. My school raised money through multiple activities with the help of the different programs we have. The media program conducted a live full-day webcast with the aid of the students from the music program. The aesthetics program and others also did a school-Christmas market and even school clubs did their own event to support this cause. It was nice to be back as a volleyball referee to assist a tournament the volleyball club held to contribute to the donations. At the end of the week an amount of 60 million SEK was collected and a record on audience engagement was reached.
But that is not the only big event with music during December as there is also St. Lucia on the 13th of December. The martyr Lucia is commemorated through a luciatåg (the literal translation is Lucia-train). Choirs dress up with white robes and give concerts throughout their area, singing songs that many Swedes know by heart such as Sankta Lucia. A girl is elected to be dressed as Lucia, who is represented with a red sash as a belt and a crown of candles. Along Lucia there are tärnor (handmaidens), stjärngossar (star boys), and sometimes pepparkaksgubbar eller tomtenissar (gingerbread men or Christmas elves). During this day one can enjoy of some good glögg, lussekatter (a saffron bun with sometimes raisins, it looks like an ‘S’ or an ‘8’) och pepparkakor (and gingerbread cookies).
Ever heard of banana curry pizza? I didn’t until I got here, but before I start another debate like the “pineapple on pizza” one and such let me tell you, it’s actually not bad, or that’s just my opinion. Although I was a bit hesitant to try it, I don’t regret doing so, even if I might have not liked it, now I know what it tastes like and even if it’s not something I’d crave for, it’s something I simply enjoyed.
Another pizza fact for my non-Swedes to take in, it’s 100% normal to casually cut the slices with scissors. I’m aware that Sweden is not the only country that does this, but it is the first country that I have lived in that does so widely. It’s convenient and it makes me feel like a daredevil every time I do it. Next and last comment on pizza for this journal is that it is common to order an entire pizza per person. It’s weird to try to explain the sizes of pizza here as there is pretty much a standard one that is the only one offered (at least as of the places that I’ve tried so far). To my American readers, that standard is bigger than a personal pizza yet smaller than a regular/medium pizza.
I celebrated Christmas twice this year. The first time in the concept of lillajul (little Christmas) with one side of the family, and before Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, the second occasion happened during Christmas Eve with the other side of the family.
Swedes celebrate Christmas during Christmas Eve, just like Mexicans do, but of course they have their own special traditions. At 15.00 on the 24th everyone gathers around the television with some fika to watch Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) and other Disney shorts. Because the shorts transmitted are the same yearly, it is no surprise to hear the entire family saying the lines along with the cartoon characters!
Afterwards the family opened presents and then had a traditional julbord (Christmas table, referring to the dishes served during this season) with all types of herrings, potatoes, cheeses, among other components. And that was my Swedish Christmas experience!
A difference from what I’m used to, New Years in Sweden is often spent alongside friends instead of family. My friends and I had a nice dinner to say goodbye to 2024. What happened afterwards will be something you will figure it out next journal as that counts as January, so until then you may listen to the album Christmas in Bethlehem by Carola to stay joyful :-)
As always, take care and stay safe out there, har det så bra, vi ses!