Q&A on American and Swedish Christmas Traditions

When is Christmas celebrated?
United States – 25th – Christmas Day. In the morning families enjoy sticky/cinnamon buns for breakfast. After breakfast they open presents, starting with the stocking. Stockings are the large “socks” hung over a fireplace. They have small goodies, especially candies and favourite snack in there.

Sweden – 24th – Christmas Eve. Families start the festivities by watching Kalle Anka Önskar God Jul, a Disney collection of songs from the last sixty years. During the show, they eat pepparkakor and drink glögg (Swedish mulled wine). Then for dinner, Swedes partake in the famous Christmas smörgåsbord called Julbord; which is a collection of different foods.

Do you go carolling?
United States – Yes, it is common in neighbourhoods with children that kids and parents go door to door singing Christmas songs. At the end of the evening, the group gathers at a home for hot chocolate and cookies.

Sweden – It’s very uncommon. But, in church, families gather to sing songs.

When do you put up the Christmas tree?
United States – The weekend after Thanksgiving which falls on the first Advent.

Sweden – On the third Advent or after. It is not uncommon to put up the tree just a few days before Christmas Eve.

What are the most popular decorations?
United States – Wreaths, Christmas lights, and stockings. And when it snows, there’s always Mr. Snowman.

Sweden – Christmas stars to represent the town of Bethlehem and candle lights. Both are displayed in the windows.

What kind of sweets do you eat?
United States – Cookies are most popular during the holidays. Everything from traditional chocolate chip to peppermint bark to decorated sugar cookies. Candy canes are well known to hang on the tree and of course eat.

Sweden – Swedes are not big on cookies but they enjoy other treats. The only cookie exception is gingerbread cookies called pepparkakor. The Swedish version are thin and crispy and more spicy and flavorful than the American counterparts, which are chewy-soft and sweeter.

Saffron buns, or lussebullar, are soft rolls made with saffron, kesella (quark), and touch of sugar. Swedes also enjoy a hard candy called knäck, literally meaning crack. It is hard toffee candy and can be flavored with almonds or exotic spices.

What kind of drinks do you have?
United States – Eggnog is a classic love-hate Christmas drink. Made with eggs and cream and flavored with anything from rum to cinnamon, eggnog is one of those drinks you imagine Auntie Georgia getting smashed on.

Similar to Swedish glögg, there is mulled wine and mulled cider. They are flavored with the traditional Christmas spices: cinnamon, clove, cardamon, star anise. For children there is hot chocolate with whipped cream and/or marshmallows. I’m a total kid; I love a dollop of whipped cream with dark hot chocolate.

Sweden – Glögg is the ubiquitous choice of drink to have on any cold afternoon or evening. Drop a few raisins and blanched almonds and you have the perfect strong drink to survive the Swedish winter. For toasting and Christmas dinners, there is aquavit or snaps. Children and non-drinkers can enjoy julmust, a Christmas cola soda, or a non alcoholic version of glögg.

What food do you leave out for Santa (Jultomten)?
United States – Cookies and milk. Any sort of cookie will do but most popular are sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and gingerbread cookies.

Sweden – Risgynsgröt. It is a rice pudding with cinnamon and brown sugar. Some tales call for a pat of butter on top of the pudding to ensure Jultomten does not break out in a rage.

What does Santa (Jultomten) look like?
United States – The American version of Santa can be credited to the Dutch’s Sinterklaas, cartoonist Thomas Nast, and folklore from other countries.

The modern version of Santa we know today is based on Coke-Cola’s creation by Haddon Sundblom in 1931. He based the modern day St. Nick on Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly called “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) and Nast’s work from 1862.

Santa Claus is seen as jolly, fat, well tempered and with a large white beard and red outfit.

Sweden – Santa is known as Jultomten in Sweden and julnisse in Norway. Jultomten derives his name from tomte, a small man living in a farm who worked using magic. The tomte could be very kind and bestow gifts but also very moody and sometimes borderline sociopath. In folktales he’s known to kill a cow out of anger for not receiving his pat of butter on risgrysgröt and beating those who do not keep the house/farm well.

Jultomten however has a better temperament than the tomte. The name Jultomten came into use somewhere around the 1500-1600s. He rides on a giant goat, like Thor, and hands out presents.

Today’s Jultomten are similar to the American Santa Claus who is a fat, jovial, old man riding a sleigh. But you can still find the traditional jultomtar statues in the store; big hat, lots of hair, little nose, and faceless.

Another quiz!

1. What is the name of the gulf that separates a great part of Sweden from Finland?
   
   a) Gulf of Stockholm
   b) Gulf of Sweden
   c) Gulf of Finland
   d) Gulf of Bothnia
2. How many countries share land borders with Sweden?
   a) 2
   b) 3
   c) 4
   d) 5
3. How much coastline does Sweden have?
   a) 0 km
   b) 2,476 km
   c) 2, 984 km
   d) 3, 218 km
4. What is Sweden’s highest point?
   a) Kebnekaise
   b) Halti
   c) Galdhopiggen
   d) Yding Skovhoej
5. What is the most practised Christian religion in Sweden?
   a) Lutheran
   b) Roman Catholic
   c) Baptist
   d) Judaism
6. True or false: Sweden shares a longer border with Norway than with Finland.
   a) True
   b) False
7. What is the colour of the cross on the Swedish flag?
   a) Blue
   b) Yellow
   c) Green
   d) Red
8. What was the approximate population of Sweden, rounded to the nearest million, at the beginning of the 21st century?
   a) 8
   b) 7
   c) 9
   d) 10
9. What currency does Sweden use?
   a) Pound
   b) Krona
   c) Euro
   d) Dollar
10. What is the most populated city of Sweden?
    a) Gothenburg
    b) Stockholm
    c) Malmö
    d) Uppsala

Answers: 1-d , 2-a , 3-d , 4-a , 5-a , 6-a , 7-b , 8-c , 9-b , 10-b

QI Quiz

In 2011, Barcelona made Fergie’s boys look about as good at football as Sarah Ferguson in the Champion’s League final. Argentine pocket-rocket Lionel Messi got one of the goals, but who scored the other?
a) Carles Puyol
b) Thierry Henry
c) Xavi
d) Samuel Eto’o

If someone came back from their G.P looking glum and told you they had Buerger’s Disease it wouldn’t mean they’d been at the Zingers but would in fact affect which part of their body?
a) Their head
b) Their hands and feet
c) Their back
d) Their hair

Without the Bar Code we’d have to make that little beepy noise every time we paid for items, making transactions at least 5% less exciting. What year was the Bar Code first patented?
a) 1947
b) 1952
c) 1963
d) 1971

One of the fieriest women in British history was the indomitable Queen Boudica, making Maggie Thatcher and Ann Widdecombe look like easy going members of the Sugababes. But who did she lead a revolt against?
a) The Vikings
b) The Normans
c) The Romans
d) The Celts

Enid Blyton may have had her detractors back in the day, but we doubt even she’d have come up with a book called ‘Black Noddy’. Not in fact a Blaxploitation take on our favourite Big-Ears befriending pal, what is a Black Noddy?
a) A fish
b) A mushroom
c) A machine
d) A bird

Boris Becker may be known these days for being the world’s only ginger lothario, and for spending more time in broom cupboards than Ed the Duck, but he was a bit handy in his day. How old was he when he won Wimbledon for the first time?
a) 16
b) 17
c) 18
d) 19

After the initial immature tittering that would follow ordering a Bouillabaisse which of these ingredients would you be shocked, nay appalled, to find staring up at you when it arrived?
a) Fish
b) Tarragon
c) Saffron
d) Tomato

Ok, picture the scene – you’ve been on a pretty wild stag do, consumed a few too many slippery nipples and woken up a little worse for wear. In Bratislava. Where in the world are you?
a) Estonia
b) Latvia
c) Slovenia
d) Slovakia

In recent years he’s turned his hand to a spot of knob-twiddling as a successful producer but when he was an axe-man himself for which band did Bernard Butler and his floppy hair play lead guitar?
a) Blur
b) Gene
c) Suede
d) The Bluetones

We may all have lusted after a BMW since our teens but aside from picturing ourselves behind the wheel have any of us really stopped to learn what the letters stand for? If so now’s your time to shine – what’s it short for (in English)?
a) Bavarian Motor Works
b) Bavarian Machine Works
c) Bavarian Manufacturing Works
d) Bavaria Munich Works

Most boxers have bad-ass nicknames despite, often, being pretty soft at the back of it. Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins isn’t one though, especially when you consider he was sent to prison aged 17. He served 5 years but how long was his sentence?
a) 10 years
b) 12 years
c) 16 years
d) 18 years

The exotic sounding Bolometer is not a device for weighing the gorilla from the Mighty Boosh, but instead a very clever gizmo which allows boffins to keep track of what?
a) Electricity
b) Infrared Radiation
c) Sound Waves
d) Pollution

I got 6/12. Stephen Fry would be so disappointed…

(Answers: 1-d, 2-b, 3-b, 4-c, 5-d, 6-b, 7-b, 8-d, 9-c, 10-a, 11-d, 12-b)

Do you know Sweden?

Is Swedish the official language in any other country than Sweden?
A) Denmark
B) Finland
C) Norway
D) Estonia

Are there any other official languages spoken in Sweden, apart from Swedish?
A) Yes
B) No

Sweden granted Norway independence as late as 1905.
A) True
B) False

What southernmost Swedish county has the same name (in English) as a vehicle manufacturer?
A) Lincoln
B) Volvo
C) Skoda
D) Skania

Sweden is one of the largest countries (in area) in Europe.
A) True
B) False

In Sweden the only place you can buy beer, wine or spirits is in special shops, owned by the government.
A) True
B) False

Which of the members of ABBA was actually not Swedish?
A) Frida
B) Agnetha
C) Benny
D) Björn

What is the second largest city in Sweden?
A) Malmö
B) Stockholm
C) Gothenburg
D) Helsinki

The Swedish capital, Stockholm, is known as the Venice of the North.
A) True
B) False

How many countries does Sweden have land borders with?
A) Three
B) One
C) Two
D) Four

Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-A, 4-D, 5-A, 6-A, 7-A, 8-C, 9-A, 10-C

General Knowledge Quiz about Sweden

Think you know all there’s to know about Sweden? Here’s a little quiz to really test your knowledge!

1) What name was taken by Jean Baptiste Bernadotte when he became king of Sweden in 1818?
a) Carl XIV Johan
b) Olaf
c) Gustav
d) Harald

2) When did Sweden become a member of the European Union?
a) 1992
b) 1995
c) 2000
d) 2002

3) Which Swedish Prime Minister was assassinated on 28 February 1986?
a) Olof Palme
b) Tage Erlander
c) Thorbjorn Falldin
d) Ola Ullsten

4) Who won 33 Davis Cup Singles for Sweden between 1973 and 1980?
a) Bjorn Borg
b) Mats Wilander
c) Stefan Edberg
d) Jonas Bjorkman

5) Which of the following actresses was born in Stockholm?
a) Marilyn Monroe
b) Jodie Foster
c) Greta Garbo
d) Sharon Stone

6) Which is the largest island of Sweden?
a) Oland
b) Gotland
c) Kattegat
d) Bear Island

7) Which water body separates Sweden and Finland?
a) North Sea
b) Norwegian Sea
c) Gulf of Bothnia
d) Irish Sea

8) Sweden had a colony in North America, known as New Sweden. Who was its last Governor?
a) Johan Printz
b) Johan Rising
c) Peter Stuyvesant
d) William Penn

9) Which is the capital of Sweden?
a) Vasteras
b) Stockholm
c) Lulea
d) Linkoping

10) When is National Day in Sweden?
a) 6 January
b) 31 October
c) 6 June
d) 26 December

How did you do? I got 8/10, to my eternal shame…

Answers: 1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-a, 5-c, 6-b, 7-c, 8-b, 9-b, 10-c

Questions about Christmas in Sweden

Since I’m from another country, the children I care for often question me how I do things differently from them. The first subject that comes to mind is how differently we Swedes celebrate Christmas. I found some questions about the things that differ from the Brit’s!

On which date do you celebrate Christmas in Sweden?
On the 24th of December! (I often tease ‘my’ children with the fact that I get to celebrate Christmas one day earlier than them. It’s quite pathetic, actually…)

Let’s talk about the food. There’s something that is very important to eat at Christmas in Sweden. What?
That would be the Ham.
The Christmas ham comes from Saehrímnir, the pig in Norse mythology that was cooked and eaten every night though alive the next day. <— Thank you, Google!

This casserole is named after a Swedish last name. Which name?
Jansson. The full translation says Jansson’s Temptation and consists of potatoes, anchovies and onion. It’s also my favourite dish!

This is a traditional fish dish eaten at Christmas that lately has gone out of fashion. What?
Lutfisk. It is dried fish (mostly cod) that first is soaked in water and then in water and lye. At that point the fish is poisonous so you soak it again in just water. I’ve never tried it and never will. Not even under torture. Just wanted to get that out there.

Which of these is the Swedish name for Santa Claus?
Jultomten! Every year, someone in the family, usually it’s the dad, excuses himself and says he ‘has to go buy the newspaper’. Then he dresses up in the costume and the children are none the wiser. I’ve been asked to take the role as Santa Claus many times, but always refused. My acting skills are similar to none, the kids would recognize me even before I would say ‘Ho-ho-ho’.

In a lot of houses in Sweden around Christmas there’s a straw animal somewere in the house, by the Christmas tree is common. What animal is it?
A goat! The reason for this is that Thor, a god in Norse mythology, had a chariot drawn by goats.

If you eat Christmas buffet for lunch, then what will you eat for dinner/supper?
Porridge. If we get into the details it’s often rice pudding, but at least in Sweden that is considered porridge.

Which traditional hot beverage comes both with and without alcohol and often comes out of the kitchen’s cupboards during the dark month of December?
Glögg, or mulled wine. It’s delicious and warms you through and through. If you want, you can add raisins and/or almonds to it.

TV may not have a lot of tradition in it but there’s one programme on Christmas that actually is traditional in Sweden. It starts at three o’clock in the afternoon, but after what Disney character is it named?
Donald Duck! The full title is ‘Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas!’
The programme is made up from extracts from new and classic Disney films.
I’ll end this with a line from there: From us all to you all, a very Merry Christmas.

How to annoy a Scandinavian

Came across this funny little text the other day, and it really does have a point- or several. Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to share this with all my  fellow Scandinavians!

1. Claim that Sweden, Denmark and Norway is all the same.
Scandinavia is Sweden, Denmark and Norway. That’s it. Different countries, different languages, different cultures with some similarities. Finland is sometimes included, but officially, it’s not really Scandinavia.

2. When you don’t remove your shoes before entering our house.
Because we don’t like dirt being dragged all over the house. Except when there’s a party (although, please ask first and never wear heels on our nice wooden floors).

3. What? You don’t like COFFEE???
We drink more coffee than anyone else in the whole world.
We drink tons of it. Strong, delicious filter coffee. And we don’t understand why you can only have one cup a day when our veins are constantly pumping like a bad Basshunter tune.

4. Insist Danes are Dutch.
Far, far away from each other. They’re not even neighbours.

5. … and Swedes are Swiss.
Switzerland is in Central Europe. They speak 5 languages, none of which are even close to Swedish. Nothing to do with ABBA or Volvo or blondes.

6. Enter into a discussion with us about mixer taps versus single taps.
We will win, even if you fight it. There is no way you can win it.
And don’t start on the carpet in the bathroom…

7. Tell a Norwegian that KitKats are better than KvikkLunsj.
This is such an important point, even though it only really affects Norway. KitKats are so not even close to Kvikklunsj.

8. Insist that Eurovision is crap, when we know that it clearly is one of the highlights of the year – alongside Christmas and Midsummer.
Without Eurovision, you’d have no songs to dance to at the office party. No Dancing Queen, no Mamma Mia, no Money Money Money. Don’t knock it.

9. Do you have polar bears in Oslo?
Yes, of course we do. And also roaming the streets of Copenhagen.

10. When you sing the Swedish Chef song from Muppets.
Just don’t.

11. Well, you don’t LOOK Swedish/Norwegian/Danish… (Blonde hair and blue eyes)
I don’t? And you don’t look Welsh, either.

12. “You’re Swedish? I used to have a Danish girlfriend once…”
Read point one.

13. Schedule conference calls at 11 a.m. (our lunchtime)
We have lunch between 11 am and midday if you let us. We just do. Try not to interfere with our weirdness.

14. Ask us ‘How are you’ and don’t wait for our answer.
Because, trust us, we WILL answer. In great detail and we don’t understand how to read your polite British nods of evil as we explain about our dodgy knee.

15. Don’t be late. We hate lateness. Be on time, every time.

16. You’re cold? But you’re Scandinavian!
Yes, and we feel cold. Just like you. Our veins are not made of ice, they are filled with hot Basshunter coffee, remember?

17. Scandinavian? Do you eat herring, like, all the time?
Every day, all the time, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Just kidding, we only eat herring for lunch.

The Harry Potter tag!

I’ve grown up reading/watching the Harry Potter book/films. I think I read the first book when I was about ten or eleven years old. I know I was eleven when I watched the first movie- my Mum had told me she’d buy the film for me as an early birthday present. I was so excited. And then, when I got back, I discovered she’d bought the Swedish Dubbed-version… my excitement shattered like glass. In case you haven’t figured it out yet- it was terrible. Absolutely terrible. I ended up borrowing the ‘real’ film from a friend, which I’m not sure if I’ve returned yet… oops?

But anyway, I found a site on Internet, where someone had come up with the Harry Potter tag, which basically is a number of questions that has to do with the book/films, opinions etc, etc. Here we go!

1) What is your favourite book?

It’s impossible to pick just one, but if I have to choose, I’d say the last one; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Even though it was sad it was the last book.

2) What is your favourite film? 

I know this might sound cheesy, but I love the second film- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but only because I’ve got a huge crush on the guy who played Tom Riddle. My second favourite is the last one, it was so beautifully made.

3) What is your least favourite book? 

I love ALL of them, so can’t really answer that question withut going into a rant on why this questions is a stupid one.

4) What is your least favourite film? 

I don’t like the first one very much, to be honest. I don’t know why, I just… don’t like it. I’m sorry if I offended anyone.

5) Parts of the books/films that made you cry?

Oh boy… I cried in the fourth one, when Dumbledore made the speech about Cedric in the end, I cried rivers! It was so sad, but so beautiful.
I also cried in the last book, both when Fred and Dobby died, AND because I was stupid and peeked at the ending when I was about halfway through! I read the title ’19 years later’ and began to cry even more rivers. I guess it finally caught up with me, there wasn’t going to be any more books/films!!
It was the same with the films, too many feels!!

6) If you could hook up with any character, who would it be? 

I think we all know the answer to that question (if not, read my answer to question 2). Tom Riddle, of course!

7) Who is your favourite character?

Arthur Weasley! He always makes me laugh!

8) Who is your least favourite character? 

Remus Lupin. I’m sorry, again. But I mean, what purpose does his character actually serve, in both the books and the films? He was a friend of Harry’s parents, that’s about all there is to know about him, and he’s a werewolf. Nooo, I don’t like him much.

9) What is your least favourite line? 

That’s a tricky one. I don’t know, actually. It’s not something I think about while reading or watching the books/films.

10) What would your Patronus be? 

I want it to be a horse! Or a Golden Retriever.

11) If you could have the resurrection stone, invisibility cloak or elder wand, which would it be? 

The invisibility cloak, of course! Imagine all the things I could do if I was invisible! 😀

12) Which house would you be in? 

Ravenclaw!

13) If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be? 

Christian Coulson (Tom Riddle), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) and Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall).

14) If your were on the Quidditch team, which position would you play?

I wouldn’t ever set my foot on the Quidditch field, I’m too clumsy on the ground, imagine me on a broom! Soooo no position at all!

15) Where you happy with the ending? 

Both happy and sad. Happy, because Harry survived, (almost) all of his friends survived- R.I.P Fred.
Sad, because there wouldn’t be any more books/films, EVER!

16) How much does Harry Potter mean to me? 

It means a lot to me, and it always will. Like a wrote before, I grew up with the books and the films, I went through everything Harry went through. I laughed and I cried. It means a LOT to me.