In Sweden Christmas is celebrated for a whole month beginning on St. Lucia’s Day, December 13^th. Before dawn the oldest daughter in each family dresses in a long white robe tied with a red sash around her waist. On her head she wears a metal crown that is covered with green leaves. The crown holds several lit candles.

Any remaining girls in the family also dress in white. They have a ring of silver tinsel in the shape of a halo on top of their heads. Each girl carries a lit candle wrapped in a damp handkerchief in her hand.

The boys also dress in long white robes. They wear tall, cone-shaped hats made of silver paper and decorated with star-shaped cutouts. They call themselves Star Boys.

The children come into the bedrooms of their parents and grandparents where they sing a song called "Santa Lucia". They then serve the adults, who are still in bed, coffee, fat buns shaped like an X, and ginger cookies shaped like stars and hearts. The adults blow out the children’s candles, and the children join the adults in eating the treats. The mother usually brings hot chocolate into the bedrooms for the children to drink.

The Christmas tree is decorated very simply with many animals, angels, roosters, little baskets, and stars all made from the straw that is tied, bent, twisted, and braided. Little goats and pigs are the most traditional ornaments. A big straw goat usually stands next to the Christmas tree. Straw is the symbol for grain representing food and prosperity. Many small white candles are also placed on the tree.

Christmas gifts are wrapped in paper and sealed with a blob of wax. The presents have tags that have special jingles, rhymes, or verses on them, giving hints as to package contents before opening it. Gifts are then put into a wicker basket on the floor to be opened later.

Christmas Eve, December 24^th, at 6 p.m. the family gathers together in the kitchen for a ceremony called "dipping in the kettle" . A big kettle has drippings of pork, sausage, and corn beef in it . Each family member takes his fork and spears a piece of brown bread and then dips the bread into the kettle and eats it. The celebrating begins now with a smorgasbord of breads, boiled potatoes, peas, a white sauce, fish and ham.

Rice porridge is an important part of the Christmas dinner. Inside is hidden one almond or gold ring. The porridge is served and carefully eaten. If the person who ends up with the almond or ring is unmarried, then he or she will be married in the coming year. If a child or married person gets the almond or ring, there is much teasing and laughter.

The father lights the candles on the tree while all the electric lights are turned off. Additional Christmas presents are brought by Jutomten, who arrives by sleigh drawn by one or two goats. Jultomten is a very skinny, small, gnome- like man who also has a bad temper. He wears a cloth sack on his back filled with gifts. He knocks on the door and asks if there are any good children in the house. He then passes out his gifts to the children. Children leave a bowl of porridge in the loft of their barns for Jultomten to eat while making his rounds from house to house.

The children open the gifts from Jultomten, and then the family passes out the gifts in the basket under the tree. Each person reads the rhyme, jingle, or verse and tries to guess the contents of his package before opening it. The candles are then blown out on the tree and Christmas Eve is over.

On Christmas Day, December 25^th, Swedish people put lit candles in their windows to light the Christ Child on his way. People walk or take sleigh rides to a 5 a.m. church service then return home for a quiet and restful Christmas Day.

December 26^th is known as the Second Day of Christmas. Children often have parties in the mid- afternoon, and adults have parties from the mid-afternoon until the next morning. There is a lot of visiting, eating, celebrating, and dancing.

January 6^th is the " Twelfth Night". Children dress up in costumes. Each child carries a pole with a paper star attached to the end of it. The paper star has a lit candle inside that makes it shine. Children go from house to house singing, and they are given treats from each house.

When Santa Claus comes we use to put out porridge on the stairs outside.

When he have eaten up the porridge he knocks on the door.

Santa Claus has little brownies, which helps him in the Santa Claus workshop.

In Santa Claus workshop the little brownies help him to make presents.

It says that Santa Claus comes with reindeer and lands on the roof.

Then he goes down the chimney to give the children presents.

Santa Claus has long white beard, red clothes, a red woollen cap and a fur coat.

Santa Claus has big stomach and he is very kind.

In Sweden we celebrate Advent at first of December. Every Sunday until Christmas we light a candle. In the windows we have candlesticks and poinsettias. The fourth Sunday of Advent there are four candles burning. On the first of December we go out to look at the Christmas windows. The stores have decorated the windows. In Sweden we sometimes decorate our houses with coloured lamps. People go sometimes to church on Advent.

In Sweden we have a television- and radio-calendar. We open one door each day on the calendar from first advent until Christmas Eve. The Local authority Christmas decorates our community on Advent.

On the morning of Christmas Eve children often are allowed to open one Christmas present.

In the middle of the day we cook food which we put on the table.

Three o’clock we watch Donald Duck on the TV.

In the afternoon the relatives often comes to visit and see each other. In the evening one of the grown ups have to make an errand. After a while there is a knock at the door.

When we open the door the person says , "Merry Christmas, "Are there any kind children here?"

Later he sits down on a chair next to the Christmas tree and he gives the children their Christmas present he have brought with him. He also gives the children the ones, which lies under the Christmas tree.

Often he is very tired because he comes all the way from the North Pole he have visited so many children on his way. The Swedish Santa Clause is very old and he wears red clothes and a fur coat.

The modern Santa Clause sometimes comes with snowmobile.

One day before Christmas Eve we use to decorate the Christmas tree with Christmas balls, crackers, lights and tinsel.

We also put up our Christmas figures, such as Santa Claus, angels and snowman. On the tables we have red cloths and candles. A lot of people have special Christmas curtains that they put up.

We bake gingerbread, saffronbread and different kind of cakes. We also make ice chocolate and toffees.

The children begin their Christmas holidays, 4 days before Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas holiday is for three weeks.

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150 g. Butter
5 dl. Milk
50 g. Yeast
½ tbs. Salt
1 ½ dl. Sugar
2 tbs. Cardamom
15 dl. Wheat-flour
1 g. Saffron
1 dl. Raisins

1. Melt butter, add the milk and worm up to bodyheat.

2. Crumble the yeast into a bowl and add the milk-butter mixture. Stir until the yeast is melted

3. Add the spices, raisins and sugar and then almost all the flour. Work it together into dough and let it rise for 30 minutes. Turn the oven on at 225 degrees C (440 degrees F).

4. Knead the dough and split it into 4 pieces. Roll those and divide them into 10 pieces each.

5. Mould them into patterns ( In Sweden the most common pattern looks like an 8 and is called "kuse" which means horse) and put them on a greased baking-plate.

6. Let them rise for 20-25 minutes. Brush with beaten eggs and decorate with raisins.

7. Bake for 5-10 minutes in 225 degrees C (440 degrees F)

Early in the morning on December 13th Lucia and her friends comes to visit. They are all dressed in white. Lucia has a crown with lights in her hair and a red belt around her. Lucia walks first, then following her are a group of girls, bridesmaids. They are dressed like Lucia but they do not have a crown of light in their hair or wear a red belt. Following behind the girls are a group of boys, which we call "Stjärngossar". They are also dressed in white, but on their heads they wear a funny hat.

They sing many songs for example the Lucia song and Staffan where a stableman.

Sankta lucia

Natten går tunga fjät runt gård och stuva.
Kring jord som sol förlät, skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus, stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Natten var stor och stum. Nu hör, det svingar,
i alla tysta rum, sus som av vingar.
Se på vår tröskel står vitklädd, med ljus i hår,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.
"Mörkret skall flykta snart ur jordens dalar."
Så hon ett underbart ord till oss talar.
Dagen skall åter gry, stiga ur rosig sky,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia