1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate. Never tried eggnog, it’s not something we drink here in Sweden. And I really like hot chocolate.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa never really had anything to do with our Christmases, but we wrap the presents and put them under the tree.
3. Coloured lights on the tree/house or white? White. No coloured lights will ever be in my tree if I can help it. I want a peaceful Christmas, and the coloured lights make me nervous, like looking at a shop window….the blinking kind is even worse.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but it looks nice. It’s not tradition here, but some people do it.
5. When do you put the Christmas decorations up? On the Saturday before the first of Advent.
6. Favourite holiday dish? The Christmas ham, I think. I like it best cold, on a piece of bread with strong, sweet mustard on. Yummy.
7. Favourite holiday memory as a child? The Christmas Eve breakfasts.
8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? We never believed in Santa. Our parents didn’t want to make us believe in something that turned out to be a lie – what would that do to our faith in the Lord, which they taught us about? We were never allowed to prevent other children from believing though.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, in Sweden everyone opens their presents on Christmas Eve, not on Christmas Day.
10. How do you decorate your tree? So far I haven’t got a tree this year, but last year I had a wee thing in a pot, decorated with tiny white lights and home made tags with scriptures and extracts from Christmas songs on them, speaking of the Saviour.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? For my own part I love it! It makes everything so much lighter, a definite improvement to this dark time of year.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes, but I’m not very good at it.
13. Do you remember your favourite gift? Last years gift from my parents was one of my favourites; a large glass cover, very much like the one in Disney’s The Beauty and the Beast.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Remembering why we celebrate. The family is very central in my faith; I believe it’s the whole point of the Saviour’s salvation, to enable us to live with our families forever. So being with my family is a part of it. I listen to a lot of Christmas music the month leading up to it, to keep in mind why we celebrate. But I think it’s important to not only remember it on Christmas; we should always keep in mind what the Saviour did for us.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Remembering why we celebrate. The family is very central in my faith; I believe it’s the whole point of the Saviour’s salvation, to enable us to live with our families forever. So being with my family is a part of it. I listen to a lot of Christmas music the month leading up to it, to keep in mind why we celebrate. But I think it’s important to not only remember it on Christmas; we should always keep in mind what the Saviour did for us.
15. What is your favourite holiday desert? Don’t know…
16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? On the morning of Christmas Eve some of the family members (these past years usually me and some of my siblings) get up early and make Lussebullar. It is sweet wheat bread, seasoned with saffron, always eaten at, and around Christmas. Usually you make them in individual rolls, in fancy shapes, but for the Christmas Eve breakfast my family put the rolls so close together they become one, big bread when baked. My Grandmother did this when my Dad was little, and when the children asked her why, she said it was tradition. My Dad, or one of his brothers, couldn’t say tradition, so he said badilon, and so that’s the name of our Christmas saffron bread: Badilon. That's our Christmas Eve breakfast, and I think that’s the best part of Christmas.
17. What tops your tree? Well, when I get a big tree, it’ll be a star. We’ve always had stars in my family’s trees.
18. Which do you prefer – Giving or Receiving? It’s very nice to give presents that’s appreciated. To receive something that shows the giver knows you well are nice too.
19. Favourite Christmas song? Told you that in this post.
20. Candy canes – Yuck or Yum? Again, we don’t have the American kind here, so I don’t know really. I like the Swedish kind though.
21. Favourite Christmas show? I like two very different shows: A Christmas Carol from 1984, and Little Women from 1994. I like the first because of the message, and the second for the loving family relationships.
22. Saddest Christmas song? Hmmmm…. I don't like sad Christmas songs.
That was it. Hope you enjoy :)
I love your idea of homemade tags with scripture verses on them. Do you have a recipe or instructions on how to make Lussebullar? It sounds delightful and delicious. What is a Swedish candy can like? I think almost anything would be an improvement on ours - they seem so harsh and strong to me!
ReplyDeleteI really like that idea as well, it's a pretty and unobtrusive way to be reminded of why we celebrate Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to make a post on how to make lussebullar, including the recipie (just have to translate it, and convert the measurments). Need to find the time to bake them as well - what a sacrifice... :)