Week 45 Gott Nytt År

Happy New Year, or as they say here:

I am writing this before the new year actually begins, because we will be celebrating the new year with the other senior couples tonight.  One couple has a great view of Stockholm from their living room apartment, so we are going to be there to watch the fireworks, which is one of the primary ways Swedes celebrate the new year.

However, let's back up to last Monday.  This week started with Christmas morning and the breakfast we provided for the four missionaries upstairs and the two sister missionaries who live nearby.  All eight of us crammed around our kitchen table, which helped eradicate the little bit of holiday-homesickness I had been feeling for the past week.  Then we went to he office, where Christmas presents waited under the tree, and we enjoyed watching each elder and sister open their long-awaited gifts.  One of the best presents was a book for Elder Harper made by his mother, two pages for each month of the past  year.  One page featured a collage of the pictures he had sent home during that month, and the opposite page displayed the activities of other family members during the same month.  He loved it!  Another clever gift was actually on the flaps of a box.  As Sister Heaps opened the box from her father, there was wrapping paper glued to the inside of the flaps with pictures of her with her siblings through the years. By the time they were finished, my motherly-longing for family was appeased,  and I was ready to go to the Mission Home for  delicious Christmas dinner. Later, we called home and talked to everyone except Kim, who was at her in-laws.

Our Christmas tree, waiting for the arrival of the missionaries.

Christmas breakfast--our surrogate family.

The rest of the week presented a little bit of holiday let-down.  It was good to relax after the past couple of hectic weeks, but this week was almost too slow and quiet.  However, I decided to accept  President Youngberg's invitation to all the missionaries to read the entire Book of Mormon from Christmas Day to New Year's Day.  I've never read the book in such large chunks before and it has been an interesting experience for me.  At first I was picturing the Hill Cumorah Pageant as I read; the Isaiah chapters didn't seem quite as long, while the poetic qualities seemed more evident; and the voices of the various writers were more distinct.  As I read, I realized that I was receiving multiple witnesses from the Holy Ghost, teaching me and reminding me of truths that have deepened my testimony and increased my desire to improve my life.  Reading this way has truly been a more intense spiritual experience than I anticipated and I'm grateful I have had the time to do it.

Friday night John and I, along with the Self-Reliance couple--the Bells, went into Stockholm to see the holiday lights.  Various designs (hearts, angels, pine cones, crowns) and displays (moose and deer mostly) decorated the city's streets and parks. We walked for 2 hours enjoying the sometimes surprisingly quiet streets, a few busy cafes (where people are still actually eating outside!), the gentle chilly night, and city sounds.  There's no snow in Stockholm, nonetheless it reminded me of being in NYC during the holidays with the same pulse and excitement in the air.

A city center in Stockholm

chandeliers surrounded by candles

delicate heart with red balls

a herd of moose

Kungsgården's ice skating rink reminds me of Rockefeller Center

Saturday we joined the Andersons and two of their out-of-the-country guests to another Viking burial ground, Anundshögen.  This is in Västerås (about 1 hour from our home) and touts the largest tumulus (burial mound) in the country with 3 stone ships at its base.  There are also several other burial mounds in the vicinity.  In the 3rd to 10th centuries, the area was an important trade center and became  known for "the Thing," which was a type of judicial court.  The royal highway, on which newly coronated kings would tour the country, also passed through this site.

A view of the stone Viking ships at the foot of the tall tumulus, with a smaller tumulus to the right.

View of two stone Viking ships from the top of the tallest tumulus.   The cremated remains of important  people such as kings and shipbuilders  are buried in the tumuli.  The stone ships symbolize the travel to Valhalla.  People are also buried within the circle. 

Badelunda Kyrka, originally built in the 1300s and renovated in the 1600s.

So far the weather here is remarkably mild....in the 30s most days...with occasional rain and very little snow so far.  It can feel pretty chilly at times with the humidity and wind, but the temperature only fluctuates about 3 degrees between the daytime and the night.  I guess the sun isn't around long enough to really get the earth warm.  Fortunately, we have passed the winter solstice and days are getting longer again! Hurray!

Some people think it is really cold, I guess!  Aaarf!

Week 44: God Jul!

God Jul, Merry Christmas, Everyone!

May your Christmas Day be peaceful, in knowing that Jesus Christ the Babe of Bethlehem became your Savior; joyous, in giving gifts of love; and abundant, in sharing blessings with family and feeling gratitude for the glories of life!

Combining our tradition of making "Christmas trees" with "Lighting the World," we delivered our special Christmas treat to a few of the people who serve us to thank them.  Our best experience was with the man who runs the "tobak" shop (the candy and tobacco store where we have to pick up our postal parcels) is usually a bit grumpy, all business with us, won't speak English and just wants us to take our packages and leave so he can serve his paying customers.  Probably 3/4 of our 300 packages have come through his store.  John often tries to break the ice with him and has actually gotten a couple of smiles and chuckles, but when we walked up to the counter with our little trees (one was for his assistant), he beamed and said, "For me? and for Claudia?"  He was so happy!  We had never seen him smile like that, his eyes were even twinkling!  We left, walking on air.

That evening we decided to also take trees to our neighbors.  The next thing I knew, John was inviting the young missionaries who live in our building (the POEs and the Assistants) to go caroling with  us.  For those of you who know John, this was totally out of character.  He is the last person to suggest going caroling.  In fact, in 42 years of marriage and many opportunities to carol, I don't think he has ever done it.  (He confessed later that night the he "didn't know where that came from!")  I was stunned, but we "donned our gay apparel" and hit the road!  The Swedes don't carol, but the missionaries in the past have done it sometimes, so the neighbors are tolerant of our English/American tradition and our mediocre voices, and they actually seemed to enjoy the gesture of goodwill and receiving the "tree."

The missionaries are brightening Sweden with their love and service.  One of our sister missionaries, who is serving in Umeå, got on the bus with her violin case.  The bus driver asked her if she would play.  "Right now? On the bus?"  "Yes."  She couldn't believe it, but took out the violin and began to play Christmas songs, performing all the way to her destination.  (I wish I had been on that bus for that little concert!)

Thursday began our "Couples Retreat" that John had spent the last month planning.  Eighteen of us, including the President and his wife, went to Vaxholm for a traditional Julbord.  Vaxholm, you may remember is a fortress on an island, so we had to take a ferry out to it.  We were greeted with an evergreen arch and a small fire with a lit goat pulling a sleigh.  The rustic ambiance create a warm jul-scene that continued into the restaurant, where we were greeted by a tastefully decorated table with oversized white amaryllises, clustered pinecones and evergreen boughs.  The food was spread about in two rooms.  One table was primarily sill--pickled/marinated herring--about 20 varieties, with a pot of boiled new potatoes, cheese and breads.  The center table had cold meats (beef, turkey, ham, reindeer) thinly sliced, as well as numerous sausages on one side and cold smoked or cured fish on the other side.  (The fish is cured with sugar --looks raw but isn't and is very tasty.They must have had 8 varieties of salmon.)  A few sauces and other condiments were sprinkled along the table as well, with a few salads on the end of the table.  Another table, along the back wall was meatballs and other traditional fare. While dessert table was basically candy or "godis" features everything from candy canes to licorice (they LOVE licorice).  While another table  hosted heavenly gourmet desserts. The only bad thing about the evening was the stomachache from eating too much!

Note the flat bread (knackerbröd) on the rod above the window.

The main table...meats and fish.

Vaxholm

Entrance to the Vaxholm Kastellet restaurant.

The next day we went to the Modern Art Museum which had a free exhibit of Gingerbread creations made by architects, designers and children---quite a combination, both delightful and fascinating to view.  Here are a couple of especially interesting ones:

Self-explanatory!

After touring, shopping and enjoying the Christmas scene in Stockholm, we gathered for a tour of a Blackfriar's Monastery's hostel ruin underground in Gamla Stan.  We learned a few interesting facts:
-In the 13th century, Old Town (Gamla Stan) had two ports, one on either side of the island. One port was where goods from the mainland arrived and the other port took the goods for trade out to the Baltic Sea. Three thousand people lived there in the 1200s and by the 1500's there were 7,000 inhabitants.
-The Blackfriars were Catholic priests of the Dominican order who wore black cloaks.  They came to Gamla Stan from Sigtuna in 1336 when the king gave them the land on the island.  Their land was about 2 city blocks by 1 block (in today's standard) and had a monastery, church and hostel. However, only the hostel is available to be seen by the public.
-The Blackfriars were known as intellectuals and wealthy families desired that their children be taught by them.  They were concerned that the Catholic church was becoming too corrupt and emphasized teaching only pure doctrine.
-As the Reformation gain popularity and the King embraced Lutheranism, the Catholics had to leave. By 1547 all the Catholic priests were gone and the monastery was ransacked.

This was underground, basically a cellar of a several-story building.

Area of hostel--note the small window on the right which was used to store one's belongings.

Next was dinner at the Viking Restaurant, Aifur, named after a Viking ship.  The food is delicious, but simple and meant to reflect Viking fare, and even the cutlery reflects the Viking era.  Of course the atmosphere created by long rough hewn wood table and benches, animal skins and artifacts, runes and dim yellow lighting set us back in time.  As we entered an oliphant was blown and we were introduced to the assembled guests.  Then to add to the ambiance, two musicians performed on hurdy-gurdies and other ancient instruments.

Saturday morning we had a birthday brunch for one of the Senior sisters and then we all parted our way to prepare for Christmas.


In Sweden, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Ever, so today is the big day.  After church we came home and put our little 7 lb turkey in the oven.  (I never knew turkeys could be so small!)  At 3:00 we joined the rest of Sweden by watching Swedish TV's Christmas with Donald Duck, a traditions since TV began.  Actually, it was just clips from various Disney cartoons and movies from old Mickey Mouse to Frozen--in Swedish, of course.

Afterwards we enjoyed a simple, intimate Christmas turkey dinner...in Sweden...a long way from home.

Week 43: Santa Lucia

Last Christmas when I told my grandson in Utah, Trenton, that we were going to Sweden on our mission, he smiled and said, "That is where Santa Lucia is!  She wears  a crown of candles on her head!" He had just learned about her in his second grade class.  Then this year, my kindergarten grandson in Pennsylvania, Ian, also learned about her.

Not much color, but he has the important things right...a red sash, white dress, and candles in her crown.

And when I was a little girl and learned about her and sang Santa Lucia in school, I dreamed of someday seeing her in Sweden.  I can finally check that off my schoolgirl-bucket-list, because last Sunday we watched the Santa Lucia Concert in the Uppsala domkyrka (Sweden's largest cathedral), and it was magnificent!

 (John has a video of it on FB, so you can hear the music, too.)

This poised young woman portraying Santa Lucia truly brightened the celebration.  She was the first to enter and the program lasted an hour.  She stopped three time, standing like this during the singing.  

So how did an Italian martyr become the symbol of Sweden's Christmas?  Our Swedish 5th grade history-teacher friend gave us a short explanation:  In the early days of Sweden (Viking era), people were afraid of the darkness and set watchmen to protect the villages during the dark hours.  (I can't say "night" because dark hours here may be almost 24 hours in some places.)  A young girl, carrying a candle or light of some kind, would bring food to the watchmen. Then monks, who brought Christianity to Sweden, arrived with a story of a young Italian girl who, in 304 AD, chose to give her dowry to the poor, rather than be married, and was martyred for worshipping God rather than the emperor.  The two stories became one that fit Sweden's culture and the need to celebrate light on one of the darkest days of the year....Dec. 13th, 12 days before Christmas. Today many churches offer a Santa Lucia Concert with a Santa Lucia procession with Christmas choral music.  Most elementary schools have a Santa Lucia program.  I even heard of a town (Gubbängen, a suburb of Stockholm) which had Santa Lucia riding a horse down the main street of the town, followed by about 50 community members holding candles.  We were surprised to see several roundabouts with large candles around their perimeters.  Celebrations were everywhere!

We had our own sort of celebrations this week, too.  One was a trip to the temple for the departing missionaries.  The Nativity on the temple grounds is especially lovely and not something one sees in this county.

Another was zone conference.  In preparation, we helped Sister Youngberg wrap all the presents for the missionaries....cute little ornaments that looked like their name tags...with their names on them.

Oh, and of course we had Christmas packages to deliver to the missionaries.  Here is what the office was looking like before zone conference!  We had over 250 packages to deliver to 135 missionaries!

We had boxes piled like this in 5 rooms of the Mission Office--one for each zone!

Our entry

The next two days were our zone conferences and the president and his wife wanted the conference to be "Christmas with the Youngbergs."  Our jobs were decorations and food--same as all the zone conferences, but this time we had a Julbord--or Christmas table.  It was as traditional as we dared with our budget and the missionary's tastebuds.  (We left out the fish, as our Americans are not too fond of pickled herring and lox is too expensive.)  However, our Julbord consisted of hot foods: meatballs, prinz korv (like little hot dogs with the ends slit, so they looked like little pigs!), boiled potatoes, (and a small Jansson's Temptation--a creamy potato dish with anchovies--ok, this was the only fish, there wasn't much of it, and it was all eaten), brussels sprouts, and green beans (for the Americans who aren't too crazy about brussels sprouts, either).  Cold dishes:  Ham (the king of the table, as our chef described it), red beet salad (delicious and creamy--even John, who claims he has hated beets his whole life, liked it), eggs (hardboiled) topped with a creamy shrimp and caviar (oops...fish again), bread and cheese.  Dessert:  a creamy rice pudding with mandarin oranges and pepparkakor cookies.  Oh, and of course, Julmust to drink.

One elder is sniffing the eggs to be sure he wants to try them...the caviar was a little scary to some, but actually it was very mild, just a pleasant salty taste.

After dinner we watched "It's a Wonderful Life," and had popcorn.  That's right, a movie! a real present for the missionaries! Then the Youngbergs continued with some of their Christmas traditions like they would share with their family.  The conference was intimate, festive, fun, and spiritual.

The next day John and I decided to visit Jan Jonsson and his wife, Anita, who we met at the Royal Stables Christmas Market.  Jan is the maker of Sami knives, and we realized after the Christmas market, we didn't want to leave Sweden without one, so Saturday John got his Christmas present early.  Mr. Jansson has won many prizes for his knives and he proudly showed us his collection of awards and knives.  The Monsoons were warm and friendly, and even showed us their little shop where they "work a little every day and have coffee at 10."  This couple of 50 years shares the same little table for their work--he crafts his knives from wood, deer antlers and steel and she makes Sami jewelry.  Our visit with them will rank as one of our most treasured memories of Sweden.

 Unlike the knife in the picture, John's is a modestly small knife, but still has the mark of Mr. Jonsson's craftsmanship.  This knife is his prize winner...note the detail on the knife and scabbard.

Their little worktable.  Their workshop was about 8 feet by 8 feet  and he had two machines and another little table for a friend who joins them to make jewelry.  

From their home we went to our ward's Julfest or Christmas party.  It was another Julbord with almost the same food!  (So, I guess we planned ours "right" but it was the third day in a row of eating the same things!)  The building is so small we wondered how they would fit everyone.  However, they put the buffet in the back of the entry and used the chapel (there are no pews in the chapel) all the way to the back for the tables. About 100 people were seated!  Impressive!  The three hour party flew by with food, Santa Lucia procession and songs with the Primary children, gingerbread house decorating contest (the houses were brought finished, ready for judging), a singalong, a video made by the youth, dancing around the Christmas tree (surprisingly, the same songs and dances as Midsommer), and a visit from Tomten who looked just like Santa Claus!

I thought it was cute how all the little ones had Santa or gingerbread pajamas on!

It has been another busy week, as it is for nearly everyone this time of year.  For me, being able to relax and watch the second half of "It's a Wonderful Life" offered me a little respite, but also helped me reflect on the value of everyone's life.  What would our world look like without us?  We are often blinded to the good that we do, because we just do it.  It is part of our nature.  We aren't looking for accolades or rewards; we are just living life, trying to be good people, and we rarely know the impact we have on anyone we encounter--just like George Bailey.  I love the scripture that says, "Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God"  (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).  I think it is important that the word "remember" is included there.  We need to remember our worth to God, too.  He loves us so much that He has given us a Plan of Happiness which centers on Jesus Christ's atonement for us. This Christmas season, may we remember the Savior, the value of every person, and the hope He brings to our lives.

Week 42 Aurora Party

Can you see the corkscrew effect?

Monday night promised an aurora borealis, so with a clear sky forecast we decided to pull together an impromptu Aurora Party.  (The Senior Couples love an excuse to get together.)   The spot we thought would offer us a good view...Runsa...where the Viking burial mound and wolf trap are that I wrote about several weeks ago.  John's aurora app said the show would start at 4, so we drove to the designated spot and realized it was still too light, even though the sun had gone down at 2:30.  We weren't disheartened though, as the app said things should be even better at 9:00.  We went the Anderson's house and watched the latest BYU TV special--"Instrument of War." (It is a remarkable and touching true story of an American prisoner of war in Germany during WWII who makes a violin.  If you haven't seen it, it is well-worth your time to view it.) Then three more couples joined us and we shared a delicious dinner of homemade chicken soup, spinach and apple salad and apple crisp. We are all pretty talented at pulling a dinner together on short notice!  At 9 PM we decided to brave the cold again.  Just as we emerged from our cars, a star shot across the sky, and I thought, "That's a nice gift...and a bit of a promise."  After about 15 minutes of staring into the darkened sky, we got back into our cars to get warm.  A few minutes later I noticed the tell-tale white band beginning to form across the northern sky, and I knew it was coming. Jubilant, I jumped out of the car and motioned for everyone to join me.  As soon as they were out, the first show began with vertical pillars popping up on our left and right as the band tightened then slowly dissipated, and all the action stopped.

This looks awfully dark, but can you see the rainbow-like band?  

We climbed back into the cars to thaw out.  After about another half an hour or so, we were about to leave and I noticed the band forming again and this time the show was even longer and better!  It is difficult to get good pictures.  John's are better than mine, but I'll throw a couple of mine in anyway.

Full aurora

Some of our bundled-up aurora watchers.

Tuesday we did apartment checks.  We only have two apartments to check every quarter and they are both near by--the elders upstairs and the Täby sisters about 10 minutes away.  I check for cleanliness and supplies, which John  fixes things and tightens beds and furniture.  After the check, we like to give them a little message and treat.  They always seem so grateful to sit back and let us share an uplifting thought and our testimonies with them.  Melanie's banana muffins were well received, too!

Wednesday night John got a distress call from the Andersons, who had a flat tire on the freeway about 45 minutes away.  They were able to get to an exit, but the tire was shredded, and a special jack was needed...so Elder Hales went to the rescue and returned with both knees of his jeans black with mud. I'm so appreciative of the Vanish spot cleaner here--it is marvelous!

Red-coated "Angel of Mercy", as the Anderson's dubbed John.

Thursday we provided lunch at the District Meeting in the Clubhouse again.  I love helping out that way, and they love eating the food!

Friday was Sister Anderson's birthday celebration--so it was an excuse for another Senior Couple party!  She requested a taco bar and carrot cake.  After dinner, we watched the Christmas Devotional Broadcast from Salt Lake, which helped refocus us on Christmas.

We make do with what we have...like tea lights for birthday candles!   

Saturday we went to a Christmas market in Vaxholm.  It was nice, but small and when we were finished, we didn't feel satisfied so as we were driving home we googled to find another one.  Sure enough there was one at Täby Park, the horse race track near us.  It was already dark by the time we got some lunch--a "Cheesesteak" for about $10  (things aren't cheap here!) from a food truck, served on a big hamburger bun....but it was delicious, and warm!

We found a warm spot inside to eat our "cheesesteak" sandwiches.  The track is behind us.

We topped off lunch with some amazing chocolate truffles--Jul truffles--coated in cinnamon and other Christmas spices--mmmm, White chocolate with "nejlika."  We had a good laugh with Swenglish (mixing Swedish and English) because "nej" means "no" and "lika" of course looks like "like" --"no like"!!  Actually, "nejlika" means "carnation," and the truffle was surprisingly very light and tasty! Then I mustered up the courage and money to buy a Tomte--the little elf-like folk character who delivers presents on Christmas with the Julbock--goat.  He is made of handmade felt and Icelandic wool. I think he and the julbock we bought last week will make a nice team on my living room beam next Christmas.

Tomten is sitting in the front.  We can't understand how the artists can stand to be outside all day!
Her booth is a horse stall.

Yesterday I was reading the article by Stephen Owen, the Young Men General President, the December Ensign, "Become What God Wants You to Be," and I was impressed with a couple of ideas.  "It is not enough just to know with our minds; we must understand in our hearts.  Doctrine can't just influence our thoughts; we have to let it change our very nature."  Surely, what we know is important, but that is not how we will be judged.  It is our actions that define us and will ultimately be the proof of who we really are.  He also reminded us that, "We live in an era of secularism, when people are increasingly putting their trust in worldly philosophies, institutions, and wealth.  But all of these will fall, and if we anchor ourselves to them, we will fall also."  As we go about this Christmas Season, let us examine our hearts.  Are we anchored to Christ?  Have we built ourselves on that sure foundation?  What does our behavior show?