I've done a number of different Christmas celebrations through the years, from weddings to personal Christmas celebrations. I'm not one who likes getting stuck in a rut, doing the same thing Christmas after Christmas. I like to switch things up and put a new twist on Christmas from year to year.
One of my favorite Christmas celebrations is a Christmas Around the World party to celebrate my different heritages. I'm
French and Irish with some Native American thrown in. My family hails from Sweden and Ireland so I have a few choices when it comes to a Christmas Around the World party and often, it's interesting to see "how the other half lives".
Christmas is an easy party to do since most of us have Christmas decorations on hand that we can use in staging and people are already in a celebratory mood. It's also easy to incorporate standing family traditions into a Christmas Around the World party.
a swedish christmas
A Swedish Christmas primarily revolves around food. You eat your way through the holidays.
(Unlike America, there is no religious connotation to a Swedish Christmas, or at least not much of one apart from St. Lucia.)
My grandparents were from Sweden so a Swedish Christmas had always been big in our house. It's very different from an American Christmas.
invitations
I always did the outside of my invitations in Swedish and the party information inside in English.
To say Merry Christmas in Swedish, you say "God Jul".
I scrapbooked my invitations mainly to keep in practice with using my Cricut.
For the main picture on the front of the card I used the cover of an old Swedish Christmas invitation.
That was glued over a piece of Christmas themed scrapbook paper.
The rest were scrapbooking embellishments, but if you're not into scrapbooking that's no problem. You can substitute with dollar store finds.
For example, Dollar Tree has a variety of snowflakes you can use on your card if you don't have a Cricut.
They also have artificial flowers and the sprigs of green you can see on the card so you can use those instead of scrapbooking embellishments.
Walmart usually has a variety of papers in their craft section that you can use in lieu of scrapbooking paper. You could even use Christmas wrapping paper.
Don't speak Swedish? Here are some Christmas greetings in Swedish to help you out:
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God fortsättning (enjoy the rest of the holidays)
Phonetically, it is pronounced /ɡuː(d) jʉːl/ sounding more like “good-yul” when enunciated. In English, -
Varma lyckönskningar (Warm wishes)
Pronounce it: VAHR-mah (like “farm-a” with a ‘v’ at the start) LICK-erns-king-ar. -
Trevlig helg (Happy holidays)
Pronunciation: TRAY-vlee HELG
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Gott Nytt År! (Happy New Year)
It is pronounced similar to how it is written and it sounds like “Gut-Nitt-Or.”
Now that you are familiar with the holiday pleasantries, here are some useful Christmas and winter-related words in Swedish to add to your Christmas vocabulary and/or invitation – or just to show off how much you’ve learned:
Snö – Snow
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Snöflinga – Snowflake
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Snögubbe – Snowman
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Juldagen – Christmas Day
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Jultomten – Santa Claus
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Pepparkakshus – Gingerbread House
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Mistel – Mistletoe
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Tomtenisse – Elf
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Fyrverkerier – Fireworks
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Nyårslöften – Resolutions
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Nyårsdagen – New Year’s Day
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Nyårsafton – New Year’s Eve
And just so you know, a present or gift in Swedish is also called “Present!”
Adapt the language on your card to the nationality you're using for Christmas - Italian, German, etc.
staging
There's really not much to staging an Around the World Christmas event.
I added curtain lights to my windows, underlit my round table, brought out a couple of winter throw pillows and set up my tree full of Swedish ornaments. I used my other Christmas decorations here and there throughout the room to tie everything together.
If there's one thing you need for a Swedish Christmas it's plenty of dining and food tables!
I used the lace tablecloth I used for the Titanic party and put a Swedish runner I have over it. The centerpiece was a simple Swedish decoration I have. I moved my DIY corrugated fireplace behind the table and put a few of my Christmas decorations on it.
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On my round living room underlit table I used round Swedish placemats with matching napkins that I have.
I used my set of Christmas dinnerware as well, given it's the only time of the year I haul it out and actually use it.
If you don't have Christmas themed dinnerware don't sweat it. Use plain white or whatever you have and just dress it up a little with something like Christmasy napkin rings of your Christmas party country.
music
Don't forget to make up a playlist of your country's Christmas songs!
My brother was very good at imitating people and every Christmas he'd do an old 1949 Swedish comedian, Yogi Yorgesson song called "I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas"
food/menu
A traditional Swedish Christmas buffet is called a "Julbord". It is served on Christmas Eve (Swedes celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve called Julafton, not so much Christmas day. The julbord starts being served in
early December and continues to be served throughout the holiday season I did manage to find a video that shows all of the different sections of a julbord. You'll see why I say Swedes eat their way through the holidays!
My heartiest recommendation: STEER CLEAR OF THE LUTEFISK! That is not a "culinary adventure" you want to embark on, trust me! If you don't know what lutefisk is...
It is a gelatinous white fish that's very big in Sweden.
It is prepared by soaking it in what amounts to a lye solution for 3 days. Yeah, lye...that stuff you clean drains with and keeps everyone out of your house for the 3 days it's soaking due to the stench.
Gnaw on a Goodyear Radial, you'll enjoy it more.
Lutefisk is traditionally served with
a mustard so hot it will clean your sinuses out for the next 12 months. I'm not kidding when I tell you a Kleenex box or 2 are standard fare on any Swedish Christmas table. Personally, I think the hot mustard is meant to burn the taste buds so badly that you can't taste the lutefisk. Just my take on it...
There's only one thing lutefisk is good for and that's the annual Two Harbors, MN lutefisk tossing competition between the Swedes and Norwegians.
No, I did not serve Lutefisk for my Swedish Christmas dinner. I didn't want anyone dropping dead at my table as I can't imagine consuming something marinating in LYE for 3 days can be in any way good for you. I stuck to the other traditional Swedish Christmas favorites.
PICKLED HERRING
RECIPES
SWEDISH PICKLED HERRING Recipe
SWEDISH PORK RIBS Recipe
SWEDISH CABBAGE ROLLS (Kåldolmar) Recipe
SWEDISH BOILED DILL POTATOES Recipe
SWEDISH SAFFRON ROLLS Recipe
MY GRANDMOTHER'S SWEDISH MEATBALLS RECIPE FROM SWEDEN
Ingredients:
1/4C Chopped onion
1T Butter
1/2 LB Ground Beef
1/2 LB Ground Veal
2T Flour
1T Salt
Dash of pepper
1 Egg
1/4C Half & Half
1 Can (10.5 oz) Condensed consomme
Directions:
Saute onion in butter 2-3 minutes
Combine meats, flour, salt, pepper
Add egg, half & half, and onion. Mix thoroughly.
Shape to form balls.
Brown meatballs, add consomme, heat thoroughly
Serve in chafing dish.
favor boxes
In Sweden, candy canes (called Polkagris) are eaten year round, not just at Christmas. I found polkagris far tastier than American candy canes, the peppermint is more subtle and the flavor more balanced so I wanted to include some in my Swedish Christmas. I found this DIY favor box tutorial on chickenscratch, ideal for the size of polkagris.
ACTIVITIES
cut your own christmas tree
One of the long standing traditions in my family is to cut our own Christmas trees from the thousands of acres of forest surrounding my home.
You can go to the DNR office and buy a permit for $5. You can't buy a tree for anywhere near that price!
One of the last photos taken of my dad was of him tromping through the woods, ax in one hand, his cane in the other, looking for the perfect live Christmas tree.
have a gift exchange
Christmas has become so commercialized and expensive that an easy solution to this problem is to have a gift exchange. My family draws names in the months before Christmas and buy for whomever's names we've drawn. Sometimes we'll do regular gift exchanges, sometimes gag gifts.
Adventskalendar
As with other parts of the world, Sweden counts the days to Christmas with an Advent or Advent calendar.
In modern Sweden, of course, most people don’t reference Christianity when counting the days to their main festive celebration. The Adventskalender, or Advent Calendar is more of an excuse to eat a chocolate every morning before school or work.
While traditionally, advent calendars were intended mostly for children, they’ve evolved over the years, so adults can enjoy their own versions too. Like in many parts of the world, Sweden now offers wine, liquor, and other adult-focused calendars.
mix up a batch of glögg
One thing you’ll have plenty of at a Swedish Christmas celebration — is alcohol. Swedish Christmas glögg is the drink of choice for most families.
While the adults drink this spicy, warm punch on a daily basis through the festive season, children usually get a non-alcoholic version similar to a fruit punch, as well as plenty of milk and cookies.
Traditional Swedish glögg features bourbon, or port-wine, brandy, red wine, ginger,
orange zest, and cinnamon sticks. Most families have their own recipe for glögg, and they’re all extremely proud of their unique creations. Recipe for glogg
take advantage of the winter weather
Christmas in Sweden is long, dark and cold.
Take advantage of the winter weather Christmas brings and go ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, play hockey.
Where I live we have a Winter Park that offers many winter activities free of charge.
We've even made our own ice rink out on the lake in front of my house.
You can adapt what did with a Swedish Christmas to whatever country suits you or that you want to celebrate.
