Christmas in Stockholm
Christmas in Sweden is celebrated on the 24th of Dec every year. On 25th, as the rest of the world celebrates, most Swedish families spend quiet time at home. 24th is the day they get together with relatives or friends to party and exchange gifts. I was very fortunate to be invited by my landlord, Mr. Thomas Eriksson, to join him and his family in celebrating Christmas this year. I think he took pity on me, seeing how I'm all alone at home, no friends, no relatives, no party. Haha. Nevetheless, I'm very grateful and happy. No white Christmas, but at least got party!
God Jul!
"God Jul!" is how they greet each other on Christmas. Apparently, this is the first year that Mr. Thomas did not host a party at his house. Instead, we all went to his eldest daughter's place. His daughter and her boyfriend just bought a house in the suburb and invited everybody over. There, I met Thomas' parents (who have been to Singapore and Thailand, but have not heard of Malaysia), Thomas' second daughter (who plays ice hockey for Sweden's national team) and her husband, Thomas' siblings and their respective partners, and Thomas's daughter's boyfriend's side of the family.
Being the odd one out, naturally I was the center of attention that day. Questions flew.
"You mean there are chinese who are not from China?"
"What language do you speak back in Malaysia?"
"Do people celebrate Christmas in Malaysia?"
"How are Malaysian Chinese different from China Chinese?"
"Why did you come to Stockholm?"
"Is your wife pretty?" - yes
etc.
Everybody was really friendly and curious about me, as I am towards them. From our conversations, I also got a glimpse of what the people here is like. For example, I found out that Thomas and his "wife", Katarina, were never married even though they already have 4 children. According to them, this is normal in Sweden. No social stigma. After staying together for a number of years, even the government recognizes that you live in a family unit even though you're not married, and will be accorded the same rights and benefits as married couple. I've yet to find out what rights and benefits are there. I've also been told that it's normal for dating couples to move-in together after going out for about a month or so. And when you reach 18 years old, your parents would love for you to move out on your own so they can have more space for themselves.
Soon, it was time to eat. Being the "guest", I was requested to sit in the middle of a long table. Even though it was only 1.30pm, they call it the Christmas "dinner". It is like a potluck, everybody brought something and I saw all the dishes spread out in the kitchen while the dining table only has empty plates, glasses and cutlery. I'm sure there were some coordinations beforehand, because nobody brought the same thing. Everybody gathered around the table, standing around, waiting to be told by the elders where to seat. Once everybody has their seat, Grandpa (Thomas' dad) started singing in Swedish and everybody laughed and then they too joined in the singing. While they sang, I think of myself, about to sample the famous Swedish Smörgåsbord. I'm about to sample their famous herring dishes (something of an acquired taste). I don't know about you, but this feels like the most original Christmas celebration, ever. Hey, they're even saying that Santa Clause originated from Sweden. Although they're still arguing about that with the Finnish and the Norwegian. Anyway, after the song is finished, everybody had another round of laughter, then it's time to eat.
God Jul!
"God Jul!" is how they greet each other on Christmas. Apparently, this is the first year that Mr. Thomas did not host a party at his house. Instead, we all went to his eldest daughter's place. His daughter and her boyfriend just bought a house in the suburb and invited everybody over. There, I met Thomas' parents (who have been to Singapore and Thailand, but have not heard of Malaysia), Thomas' second daughter (who plays ice hockey for Sweden's national team) and her husband, Thomas' siblings and their respective partners, and Thomas's daughter's boyfriend's side of the family.
Being the odd one out, naturally I was the center of attention that day. Questions flew.
"You mean there are chinese who are not from China?"
"What language do you speak back in Malaysia?"
"Do people celebrate Christmas in Malaysia?"
"How are Malaysian Chinese different from China Chinese?"
"Why did you come to Stockholm?"
"Is your wife pretty?" - yes
etc.
Everybody was really friendly and curious about me, as I am towards them. From our conversations, I also got a glimpse of what the people here is like. For example, I found out that Thomas and his "wife", Katarina, were never married even though they already have 4 children. According to them, this is normal in Sweden. No social stigma. After staying together for a number of years, even the government recognizes that you live in a family unit even though you're not married, and will be accorded the same rights and benefits as married couple. I've yet to find out what rights and benefits are there. I've also been told that it's normal for dating couples to move-in together after going out for about a month or so. And when you reach 18 years old, your parents would love for you to move out on your own so they can have more space for themselves.
Soon, it was time to eat. Being the "guest", I was requested to sit in the middle of a long table. Even though it was only 1.30pm, they call it the Christmas "dinner". It is like a potluck, everybody brought something and I saw all the dishes spread out in the kitchen while the dining table only has empty plates, glasses and cutlery. I'm sure there were some coordinations beforehand, because nobody brought the same thing. Everybody gathered around the table, standing around, waiting to be told by the elders where to seat. Once everybody has their seat, Grandpa (Thomas' dad) started singing in Swedish and everybody laughed and then they too joined in the singing. While they sang, I think of myself, about to sample the famous Swedish Smörgåsbord. I'm about to sample their famous herring dishes (something of an acquired taste). I don't know about you, but this feels like the most original Christmas celebration, ever. Hey, they're even saying that Santa Clause originated from Sweden. Although they're still arguing about that with the Finnish and the Norwegian. Anyway, after the song is finished, everybody had another round of laughter, then it's time to eat.
Actually there're more food than captured here. But I was too busy.... |
It's customary to start with fishes first. Smoked Salmon. And 3 different herrings dishes. Only kids and those who have not quite 'acquired' the taste for herrings skip these. At first, I didn't dare to take a lot, worried I might not like them. Surprisingly, they taste good. So, they were 2nd and 3rd rounds before I went for the other cooked dishes.
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Even dog celebrates Christmas.
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There's another unique Christmas tradition in Sweden. At exactly 3pm on 24th of December every year, adults will sit in front of the TV to watch Disney's cartoon (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White, Cinderella, etc.). And this has been going on for 40 over years. The story is that after World War 2, those are the only cartoons available in Sweden at that time. So during Christmas, to make children happy, they fit snippets of Disney cartoons within an hour and broadcast it. A whole generation of Swedish grew up watching those cartoons and the TV Station continues to screen the same cartoons between 3pm and 4pm every year on 24th December. Some years ago, the TV Station tried to change the program, but there was an uproar from the public. I was amused to see a bunch of adults watching those cartoons and singing along Snow White and the 7 dwarves. If not because Grandpa has difficulties walking, I think he would've danced along. I found some online articles about this tradition here
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After the dinner and cartoons, somebody quietly slip away to dress up as Santa Clause and come back to surprise the kids who hasn't learnt the truth about Santa yet.
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After Santa ("Tomte" in Swedish) left, they ask one of the kids to give out all the gifts that has been accumulating under the Christmas tree. He read out what's written on the card, and then pass the gift to whoever it was addressed to. I felt a bit akward here because I came unprepared. But I guess they understood. In the end, I got a small gift anyway.
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After that, somebody took out a guitar and started playing and singing. Everybody else joined in the singing and danced as well.
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A group photo at the end of the party.
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