Vennskap News: "'Twas The Night Before Christmas.."

In ancient times, long before Christianity came to Scandinavia, “Jul” or “Yule” was an observation of the winter solstice. It was a mid-winter celebration of the transition from the dark winter to spring and the time to celebrate harvest, fertility and birth. December is the darkest month of the year but it is also when the days start to get longer again. In “The Early Days, Jul was a pagan tradition that, in time,slowly converted into a Christian custom celebrating the birth of Jesus, the last week of December.

Christmas is traditionally celebrated on the 24th of December in Scandinavia, but it starts long before that with preparations of food and shopping.

In Sweden, youngsters made sure that they had their stockings hung at the end of their bed before the morning of the 24th, Christmas Eve.That morning, after examining the stockings contents, joyous activities were enjoyed until 3 pm. At this time, much of Sweden gathered their families to do, of all things, watch cartoons! This was the time when a viewing of Donald Duck and his Friends officially kicked off the Christmas festivities!
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Every year on Dec. 24 at 3 p.m., half of Sweden sits down in front of the television for a family viewing of the 1958 Walt Disney Presents Christmas special, "From All of Us to All of You." Or as it is known in Sverige (Swedish), Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul: "Donald Duck and his friends” extend their Christmas wishes.

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Kalle Anka (pronounced kah-lay ahn-kah) gets its name from the star of the show's animated short, a 1944 cartoon called "Clown of the Jungle," in which Donald Duck is tormented by a demented Aracuan Bird during a luckless ornithological expedition.

The show's cultural significance is VERY important! There is no taping or DVR Kalle Anka for later viewing, and no eating or dinner preparation is allowed while watching Kalle Anka. Every member of the family is expected to sit quietly together and watch a program that generations of Swedes have been watching for fifty years. Most families plan their entire Christmas around Kalle Anka, from the Smörgåsbord at lunch to the post-Kalle visit from Jultomten. It has been said that "At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, you can't to do anything else, because Sweden is closed." Each time the network has attempted to cancel or alter the show, public complaints have been swift and fierce.
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After the show, the tree that has been decorated with strings of their country's flag, or white lights resembling

bonfires that lit up the dark winter nights might be the center of family activity. Everyone joins hands and they circle the tree while singing “Nu är det jul igen, nu är det jul igen!”and other favorites until everyone stops singing and starts walking towards the table. It’s time for the Christmas smorgasbord.

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The traditional Scandinavian kitchen will have prepared a wide variety of cold and warm traditional Christmas dishes. The cuisine varies slightly between the three countries. It is expected that you should go around seven times to get food at a proper smorgasbord, because of the wide range of cold and hot food, fish, meat and desserts that is served. Some of the fish dishes that might be included are herring and ham. The herring is pickled and comes in many variations, tasting of garlic, tomato or mustard. Other dishes include lutefisk, as well as meatballs, duck, sausages and rice pudding. And of course there is an abundance of salads and garnish to go with it.

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Soon, there’s a knock on the door and Swedish youngsters happily allow the jultomten to join the festivities. In Norway, he’s the julenissen, in Denmark, he’s known as the julemanden. He’s believed to be a cross between the garden gnome and the Greek Saint Nicholas whose generosity became the inspiration for today’s American Santa Claus. The most characteristic features of Norway's Santa Claus are his red stocking cap and long white beard. The Julenisse wears knee breeches, hand-knitted stockings, a Norwegian sweater and a homespun jacket. On top, he wears a heavy fur coat — it can get cold in Norway in the winter.

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Exactly where he lives is also disputed. Some say the North Pole is his real home, but in Scandinavia, it is almost common knowledge that he lives in Rovaniemi, Finland, or if you ask a Dane, they might say he is from Greenland.

At any rate, the Jultomte delivers his presents in person, never flying through the air on a sleigh pulled by magical reindeer, but sometimes on a sled pulled by a goat.

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December 25th finds churchgoers enjoying a Christmas service and a quiet day with their family.
In Sweden, December 26th is a day of socializing. Children’s parties are held in the afternoon, while adults parties are held later in the evening and animals are given extra food. On the Epiphany (Twelfth Night), villagers would dress up as biblical characters and sing hymns from home to home.

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Perhaps there may be a knock on the door by a group of carolers dressed in costumes and masks. They are the julbukkers who are making their way to their neighbors for Christmas cakes and delicacies. In this season of games and merriment, there is little mention of children's bedtimes as they dare the neighbors to guess their identity.

In this time of long, cold, dark winter nights, the lights of Christmas and the songs of celebration happily mark the Twenty Days of Christmas, ending January 13th, St. Knut’s Day. Twenty days and twenty nights of happiness and joy in a long,cold winter!