Christmas

The Bright Side of Darkness

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Without darkness, we would not be able to see the light. The longer and darker the winter days are, the brighter and longer are the summer nights. Scandinavians know how to make the most out of the December darkness and turn it into prime time for advent “fika” and “hygge.”

A Swedish advent candle helps us count down each day to Christmas.
Calendar candle waiting to be lit to count down to Christmas.

It’s of course also prime time for wearing safety reflectors as the Scandinavian walks and bikes a lot, also in the winter. Copenhagen has the longest days of the Scandinavian capitals, and sun sets there at 3:45.

It’s a bit of a culture shock for Scandinavians to see Christmas trees behind living room windows already the day after Thanksgiving. Although Sweden is a quite secular country, the tradition of keeping advent separate from Christmas lives on. The first Sunday of advent, kicks off a flurry of activities to prepare for Christmas, but many also make time for “advents-fika”. Fika is sitting around with friends or colleagues drinking coffee, eating some sweet treats and having conversations. Advent-fika has more candles, glögg in addition to coffee and Christmas cookies and pastries and is more for weekends with friends at home.

The Danes and Norwegians know how to “fika”, but interestingly don’t have a word for it. On the other hand they have “hygge” for which the Swedes don’t have a word… Hygge is for any time of the year, but December is prime time for top-hygge. Hygge is easier to experience than explain, so welcome to Copenhagen!

Typical Swedish Christmas window with lights, Amaryllis and Christmas curtains.
Typical Swedish Christmas window with lights, Amaryllis and Christmas curtains.

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Christmas 1914

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Walter Bärthel, World War One soldier, 1914
Walter Bärthel, 1914

One hundred years ago, my grandfather Walter Bärthel was on the western front, fighting for his homeland, Germany. During his time both in the trenches and behind the front lines, he kept writing and drawing in his diary.  He was only 17 years old, just a boy and had not yet completed high school, when he was caught up in the euphoria and propaganda, and joined the army. Those four diaries are an amazing story about his experiences and thoughts from the front and later from his hospital bed. On December 19th, 2014, Walter sketched the landscape near Arras in France covered in barbed wire.
Arras, France, December 19th, 2014 by my grandfather Walter Bärthel.
Arras, France, December 19th, 2014 by my grandfather Walter Bärthel.

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about the Christmas truce of 1914, when soldiers on both sides sang Christmas songs together and maybe played soccer. On December 24th, 2014, my grandfather wrote the following:

“Donnerstag, 24. Dez.
Heiliger Abend! Abends und nachts sangen Leute von uns auf Horchposten (Weihnachtslieder), daß es die Franzosen hörten! Nach einiger Zeit sang ein Franzose. Während jedes Gesanges war alles still. Danach fingen die Horchposten wieder zu schießen an. – Ich hatte einen kleinen Weihnachtsbaum in meiner Höhle, mit Lichtern, Nüssen, den die Eltern geschickt hatten. Auch mein Kamerad besaß einen solchen. – Wie werden die Eltern zu Hause das Weihnachtsfest feiern?”
Thursday, Dec. 24th
Holy Night! Evening and night, our people on “listening post” sang Christmas carols, so the French could hear it! After a while, a Frenchman sang too. During each song everything was quiet. Afterwards, the “listening post” went back to shooting. I had a small Christmas tree in my dugout, with lights and nuts, which my parents had sent me. My friend also had one like it. – How will the parents celebrate Christmas back home? Translation by Personal Past.
Walter’s story is one of four in the German-French graphic novel “Tagebuch 14-18 – Vier Geschichten aus Deutschland und Frankreich” / “Carnets 14-18 – Quatre histoires de France et d’Allemagne” (“Diary 14-18 – Four stories from Germany and France“)
American folk singer John McCutcheon captured a similar story in “Christmas in the Trenches“.

Always remember!
Elisabeth 

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The Quiet Tomte

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The Swedish hustomte (house elf/gnome) is a quiet little guy, dressed mostly in gray and red, living at your house or farmsted helping out by taking care of things around the house and keep everyone safe. You better be nice and serve him rice pudding on Christmas eve!” That’s the intro text to our pinterest board “Tomtar“. In the mid 17th century, the quiet Swedish tomte also took on the role as Father Christmas and became the Tomte with capital T. At dusk on Christmas Eve, the Tomte walks around to deliver gifts – in person! – to all nice kids.

Tomte with cat by Swedish artist Rolf Lidberg
A tomte and his son enjoying quiet company of the cat. Illustration by Rolf Lidberg.

The other day, I looked at our Pinterest tomte board just after putting down the book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain.  (If you haven’t read the book, you should, or at least listen to Susan’s TED talk. Whether extrovert or introvert, it will give you an additional set of glasses through which to see the world and your near and dear through.) All of a sudden a lightbulb went off as I realized that the Swedish tomte is introvert while Santa is a fine example of the American extrovert ideal.
Search for images of “Santa” and you will find an abundance of photos and drawings of Santa where he looks straight into the camera, happily smiling and waving. He loves to be the center of the universe and knows all his power poses.

…

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Hello Chicago!

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The old world has come back to Chicago! The German Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza is open until Christmas and offers authentic German wooden and glass ornaments as well as Bratwurst, Pretzels, Strudels and Glühwein (mulled wine). See our blog post from last year about the Chicago Christkindlmarket.

Tomtar, wooden ornaments, books and funflector pedestrian reflectors at Chicago Christkindlmarket 2013
Tomtar, wooden ornaments, books and funflector safety reflectors at Chicago Christkindlmarket 2013


For the second year, the Swedish American Museum also has a booth at the market and that’s where you go to get your Tomte fix. Tomte can be translated to gnome, elf, Santa, Father Christmas, nisse, Heinselmänchen depending on what language you prefer. Today, I volunteered in the booth and tried to count the “Cute!” (or “cuuute!”) but quickly lost track. The tomtar are all handmade in Sweden and come in many styles and sizes – and they are truly cute!

Elf or Santa safety reflector - or tomte or nisse for Swedes and Danes
Gnome, Elf or Santa safety reflector – or tomte or nisse for Swedes and Danes


Traditional Angel chimes, modern moose or dalahorse chimes are available as well as wooden toys and books. Since most Swedes wear reflectors, the museum has teamed up with funflector.com to spread some Swedish safety culture and offers a wide variety  of funflectors! There is even a tomte funflector!
The Chicago Christkindlmarket is open every day from 11am to 8pm (to 9 on Fridays and Saturdays). The Swedish American Museum Booth is #52. located outside the main market, East of the Daley Center, close to the intersection of Randolph and Dearborn. Stop by next time you are downtown Chicago and say “Hi” from The funflector Blog!

Swedish American Museum Booth at the Christkindlmarket Chicago in 2012
Swedish American Museum Booth at the Christkindlmarket Chicago in 2012


Elisabeth 

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Lucia

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Imagine early morning before sunrise when all is dark. All of a sudden, there is a faint singing in the distance and the doorway is lit up by a woman in a long white gown, wearing a wreath with candles on her head. Lucia, her maidens, and the “star boys” follow and bring light, joyful singing, coffee and sweet saffron rolls.

Saffron Rolls
Saffron Rolls (in a re-purposed Polarn O. Pyret hat)

Christmas and the advent weeks is when we feel the most homesick, but we are lucky to live in Chicago, where the Swedish community is big enough for my kids to participate in one of the many Lucia celebrations. Today, the Chicago Lucia will be at Daley Plaza at 11:30 and in Andersonville, the Swedish neighborhood, in the evening. (See the Swedish American Museum for event details.) We had the pleasure of seeing and hearing three Lucia processions a couple of weekends ago at the Swedish American Museum Christmas Market where we had a funflector booth. It was a joy to see my 10-year old twins as “tärna” (maid) and “stjärngosse” (star boy) and my 13-year-old as Lucia with all their friends from Swedish School. It felt like being back in Sweden with the right music, food and ambiance – and parents taking pictures.

Lucia by the Swedish School in Chiago, 2012
Lucia celebration by the Swedish School in Chicago

Lucia by the Swedish School in Chiago, 2012
The older girls and the Lucia get real candles. They are very focused on standing still…

Lucia by the Swedish School in Chicago, 2012
Photo op in better light and a better view of the “star boys”.

Watch today’s Lucia on Swedish Television. It is available until January 11th, 2013.  Enjoy!
Elisabeth

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Chicago Christkindlmarket

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Christkind is to German kids what Santa is to American. Christkind visits on Christmas day to put presents around the tree. Kids are kept away with closed doors to the living room until a little bell is heard. That means Christkind has finished its mission and the family can be let in to marvel at the pile under the tree. Christkind (“Christ Child”) has long golden hair and angelic wings and is a central part of opening ceremonies at many German Christmas markets, which are often called “Christkindlmarkt”.
Here is a glimpse of the Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt


Chicago has its own Christkindlmarket with tight ties to the Nürnberg one on which it is modeled. The opening ceremony (Nov 20, 2012, 4:30pm) often gets visits from the Nürnberg mayor and the previous Nürnberg Christkindl. This year, you can meet & greet the Christkindl on November 22, 11:00am,  right after the Chicago Christmas parade.
Being brought up with a mix of Swedish and German Christmas traditions, I love to go to the Christkindlmarket for some real German Bratvurst, Kartoffelpuffers and to look at the handcrafted ornaments that look just like those my grandmother had.  Except for skyscrapers instead of small half-timbered houses surrounding the market, it does take me back to Germany for a little while. German vendors come all the way here just for this, which gives it an authentic flair.
This year, there is a new section at the NE corner of the plaza. That is where you will find the booth of the Swedish Amercian Museum, filled with  Swedish  ornaments, handcrafted collectible tomten (Santas), Angel Chime rotary brass candle holders, wonderful wood toys for children, funflector® safety reflectors in fun shapes for kids and adults, and a wide assortment of Scandanavian books.
Here are some pics from previous years:

Hot pretzels at Chicago Christkindlmarket
Hot pretzels at Chicago Christkindlmarket – one of many culinary memories revived
Chicago Christkindlmarket - a genuine piece of the old world in a new world setting.
Chicago Christkindlmarket – a genuine piece of the old world in a new world setting.
Handcrafted German wooden choir boys with typical curled wood trees and a chapel.
Handcrafted German wooden choir boys with typical curled wood trees and a chapel.
Grandmas German choir boys - photo by glimling
My own set of cherished wooden choir boys, probably bought by my Grandma in the 60’s.


 Elisabeth

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Little Christmas Eve

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Finally, Christmas is almost here! In Sweden, Christmas countdown has arrived to “lill-julafton” – little Christmas Eve. The fact that even the days before Christmas have names, may tell you how important Christmas used to be – and still is!

The countdown starts with the first Sunday of Advent (this year Nov. 28) which kicks off adventsfika (afternoon coffee with Christmas cookies and sweet buns), Christmas concerts and – by now long ago – Christmas shopping.

Paper advent calenders are still popular and starts on the 1st of December. You open a little door every day from December 1st to Christmas Eve (24th) to see what is drawn on the sheet behind. There are available in America as well, but most commonly filled with a piece of candy instead of pictures. The most popular Swedish advent calender is, however, “Julkalendern” a kid’s TV show with one short episode every day. Every year is different and most of the shows are by many considered to be the best Swedish TV productions for for kids. It started in the 60’s and caught on quickly in the neighboring Scandinavian countries. For another few weeks, you can catch up with this year’s Swedish julkalender on SVT play.

Lucia is the next big event, celebrated on December 13th as I described in our previous blog post.

After Lucia, Swedes get busy getting their Christmas food, bread, sweets, trees and gifts ready. Rooted in the times when most people were farmers and had to prepare all the meat from their Christmas pig, there are many dishes on the “julbord”, a Swedish smörgåsbord with the addition of a Christmas ham.

The julbord is served on the 24th. It is also the day when tomten (the Swedish Santa Claus) visits late afternoon to give gifts to all nice children. The blog “Celebrate Christmas like a Swede” has a wonderful description of what we do. Look under the heading “Things we do and dates to remember” except that they forgot “annandag jul”. Literally it means “second day Christmas” and it is another holiday to do nothing or shop for bargains at the first day of the Christmas sale.

Christmas tree on Little Christmas Eve

This Christmas tree has an eclectic mix of ornaments from Europe and America. With that we thank you for being our reader and wish you

Merry Christmas – God Jul – Frohe Weihnachten – Joyeux Noël
Hyvää Joulua – Glædelig jul – Buon Natale – Feliz Navidad

the glimling team

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Lovely Darkness

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Imagine early morning before sunrise when the darkness of the season feels heavy. All of a sudden, there is a faint singing in the distance and the doorway is lit up by a woman in a long white gown, wearing a wreath with candles on her head. Lucia, her maidens, and the “star boys” follow and bring light, joyful singing, coffee and sweet saffron rolls.

A "star boy" in the Lucia procession add some light to the darkness.
A “star boy” in the Lucia procession.

The night of the 13th, the day of Lucia in the saints’ calender, was the longest night in the medieval calender. To the fend off the darkness and the dark forces, one had to eat several meals before dawn. Feasting on food from the Christmas slaughter eventually turned into Lucia who brings light, coffee and saffron rolls before dawn.

Swedish saffron buns for Lucia by the glimling blog
Swedish saffron buns (“lussekatter”) for Lucia.

This year’s Lucia on Swedish Television has a beautiful mix of traditional Lucia carols and modern songs and is available until January 13. In the Swedish neighborhood Andersonville in Chicago Lucia will be celebrated tonight at 4.45 and at 7. See The Swedish American Museum for more info.

Lucia choir by the Swedish School in Chicago.
Lucia choir by the Swedish School in Chicago.

Lucia is no longer the darkest day of the year: we have another week to go before it gets brighter again. Fend off the dark forces and especially pedestrian traffic accidents with some joyful safety reflectors!

How dark is it where?

If you belong to those who tell us that you are never out in the dark, please think again! This is when the sun sets today in a few cities – and remember that dusk starts earlier!

Anchorage – 3:41 pm

Montreal – 4:11 pm

Boston – 4:12 pm

Vancouver – 4:14 pm

Chicago – 4:20 pm

Toronto – 4:21 pm

New York – 4:29 pm

Minneapolis – 4:32 pm

Denver – 4:36 pm

Washingotn DC – 4:47 pm

San Fransisco – 4:51 pm

Indianapolis – 5:20 pm

Dallas – 5:22 pm

Honolulu – 5:51 pm

Of course, none of these places are as dark as the Nordic countries—Oslo (3:11 pm), Stockholm (2:47 pm), Helsinki(3:12 pm), but if your kids have any after school activities or you work normal office hours, you are bound to be out in the dark in most of these places. Get sunset and sunrise in your own city at timeanddate.com. Once you have your city, click the “Sun & Moon” tab.

Enjoy the darkness and stay safe!

Elisabeth

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