MY MOM CAME TO SWEDEN!

By Kim.

My mother came for a visit! It was the BEST!

I hope all of you take every opportunity to visit with your mothers where ever they are.  I never seem to get enough time with mine!

Me and my mom at Visby’s Southern gate.

With President Beckstrands permission we were able to pick up mom in Copenhagen! (The Southern Stake of Sweden is in the Copenhagen Temple district). My mother’s great, great grandmother ~Louise Kirstine Bischoff ~ was born in Skive, Viborg, Denmark. We were not able to go to Skive (about a four-hour drive) because that IS outside the mission boundaries but we were able to see a few sights of Denmark:

We love visiting Hans Christian Andersen’s, Little Mermaid statue. Created by Edvard Eriksen using his wife as the model, we were able to take several sets of Elders out to see it and were surprised that none of them knew who Hans Christian Andersen was! Mom knew! While there we ate lunch on a shady bench that we shared with a young man from China. This was the first of many times that mom taught me again how to be a good missionary. She talks to everybody! She is open and welcoming, she is interested in where they come from and where they are going, she asks about their family and if they are happy and everyone responds to her. We joked that she should have brought her missionary tag along.

We finally found the ‘Kristina’ Statue. Phillip has been looking for this since we arrived in Sweden. 

Designed by Dennis Smith in 2000 it represents all the Danish LDS immigrants that departed from the Copenhagen harbors for America. My mother’s family were among these immigrants. When Louise Kirstine was 18 she and her mother joined the church. It was then that Louise, age 18, left her mother and two sisters in Denmark and came to America with other converts on the packet ship Monarch of the Sea. From, “Church Chronology”, page 65, by Andrew Jensen, we find the following: “Thursday, May 16, 1861, the packet ship Monarch of the Sea sailed from Liverpool, with 955 saints of various nationalities…” 

The Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen’s Cathedral, has been rebuilt four times over the centuries due to fires and bombardment. It was originally constructed in 1209 out of limestone. It now houses Thorvaldse’s Kristus as well as sculptures of twelve of the apostles. These were carved in Rome and then presented to the  Church of Our Lady in 1838.

It was here that President Kimball, as reported by both Rex D. Pinegar and Boyd K. Packer, declared that the Keys of the kingdom held by Petrus (Peter) were now held by himself as the current President of the restored church.

Elder Hurlbut found his favorite apostle.

We drove by the Copenhagen Denmark Temple, but mom was much too tired for a session – she had just completed that trans-Atlantic flight! – so we took some pictures, picked up a bite to eat from the bakery down the street (Danish danishes ....from Denmark of course) and headed back to Sweden.

No one had replaced us in Lund yet as the YSA Senior couple so we were able to use that apartment. I might have a little shower envy!!!! The Lund shower is larger than the one we have now, the water turns on away from you, unlimited hot water, heated floors….. oh well- the work is true despite the shower you are given :). It was nice to spend a few days in a familiar place while mom shook off the jet lag. We reconnected with some old (4 months ago) friends, went to church in the Lund Ward, showed mom around our 1^st area, got the apartment ready for a new couple and had a lovely time.

As we headed north through Skåne towards Gotland we visited the Kalmar Castle built in the twelfth century. 

We had been here once before and wanted mom to have a chance to visit a Castle that had been restored. It of course contained much of the original construction. We saw magnificent wood work in the guest hall created from over 50 types of wood, the queens original bed with some of the gold leafing still in place, the free-hanging ceiling in the ballroom, original portraits of royalty, as well as reconstructions of ballgowns and coronation robes. Who doesn’t love a Scandinavian / European castle?

The Banquet room is always a big hit.

It looks like the King has a new taster.

We stayed the night in another empty Seniors apartment in Väjxö and then left early in the morning for our ferry from Oscarshamn. I’m sure everyone recalls that we live on an Island off the Southeastern coast of Sweden called Gotland. It is a 3 ½ hour ferry ride. There isn’t usually anything very interesting about the ferry trip …this one was no exception.

Let me say something here about game playing …my husband LOVES to play games! Card games, board games, 2 players, 6 players, group, doesn’t matter – he loves it. My mother is the same! We played a game almost every night she was here. Mille Bornes, Canasta, Phase 10, Bohnanza, Rummikub, Ticket to Ride, etc. not only did we play a game each night but we were hard pressed to keep up with mom, especially with Canasta, Rummikub and Mille Bornes! She just kept beating us! This shouldn’t have surprised me so much, she used to play bridge a lot (I’ve never played bridge). But I usually win Canasta but playing against her, it was as though I was a child… I could not win a hand to save my life!

We had the opportunity to introduce Nana Dee to some of the Swedish cuisine, although we were hard pressed to keep her out of McDonalds.  The most exotic dish she tried was this Shrimp Sandwich. 

Gotland is a vacation spot of Sweden. And a tourist hot spot of Europe. The tourist bureau puts out a guide of the “100 things to see /do on Gotland”.  Mom did about 27 of them. I have only done about 10 more than that.

We combined the sight-seeing with our responsibilities to the branch members and the game playing. Kerstin and Ragna  are single members that live about 45 minutes south of us in Stånga. We visit them on Fridays. Kerstin doesn’t speak any English but was very sweet with mom and enjoyed meeting her. Ragna is from Germany and a retired Elementary School teacher. She has an interesting history and mom loved hearing her stories.

Following our visits we were in the area to see Lojsta Palace, more of a fortress than a palac. The remains of the old Viking fortress date from long before the Danish King, conquered Gotland in 1361. It has now been reconstructed and is used as a lodge for this camping site.

 We then continued as far south as possible. We drove along the Kettelvik road where in the spring you can see a rare flower, “Spring Pheasant’s Eye”, we were too late in the year for this but did see lots of bunnies. I always love driving along the coast but our actual destination was “Hoburgsgubben” probably the most famous “rauk” on Gotland. From a certain spot the contour of the rauk looks like the profile of a man, therefore the name “the Hoburg old man”. We don’t know why his nose is painted… we are told it is a different color every year.

Below is a shot of the southern point of Gotland.

A few days later we traveled to the northern portion of Gotland with Nana Dee, but that will have to wait for another post.  

Missionary work calls!

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS OF SWEDEN

by Phillip

Swedish celebrations of Jul (pronounced ‘Yule’) – what we call Christmas - center around three key dates. But before we get to the first date we should talk about Advent. On the fourth Sunday before Christmas Swedish households display a candleholder that holds four candles. They light the first candle and extinguish it once the candle has burned down one quarter length of the candle.

On the next Sunday the first and second candles are lit and allowed to burn down another quarter length. The following Sunday the first three candles are lit, and on the Sunday before Christmas all four are lit.

Here is a picture our ours on the fourth week.

There are a lot of variations for observing traditions of advent, but this is how most of our friends observe it.

On December 13, (Winter solstice on the Julian calendar) Santa Lucia is celebrated. Lucia was a young Christian maiden in Italy who was killed for her beliefs in 304 A. D. Her crime was aiding and abetting the survival of the persecuted Christians by nightly descending into the catacombs where they hid from that authorities, bringing them sustenance.  To facilitate her work in the dark she would wear a headdress of candles to keep her hands free for her task.

Prior to the thirteenth of December, churches select young women to present a musical program. They sing about the blessings of light, charity and virtue. One of the girls is selected to represent Lucia and several others (in the program we saw this year there were eight) are chosen to accompany her.  They all dress in white gowns. Lucia’s gown is belted with a red sash, and in some cases the other girls bear the red sash as well. These girls accompany her, each holding a single candle, while Lucia alone bears the flaming headdress.

There are many variation in the program, but a common pattern has Lucia leading her companions through the city streets to the church doors. As they enter the choir of girls begin singing. Lucia leads her retinue to the front of the church.  The program continues with the Lucia’s companions kneeling then standing, extinguishing their candles and relighting them.  The pastor relates the tale of  Lucia and encourages the congregation to go out and bless others likewise.  

The program ends as Lucia leads her companions around the congregation and then out of the church while the girls choir sings Santa Lucia; the same song which I assume we all learned, as I did, in grade school. The song has little to do with Lucia’s life. Instead it is the prayerful outcry of a sailor asking that Saint Lucia will guide him safely into his home port, symbolic of each mortal’s need to seek aid from the divine in our hopes to return to our heavenly home.

A local girl summed up her opinion of the tradition with, “Kudos to all y'all who think walking around with fire on your head to celebrate a dead Italian chick is a good idea.”

The theme of light during this darkest period of the year is predominant .  Almost every window is illuminated  and remains so, in some households through February.  The two most popular forms of window decoration is the Light Bridge and the large illuminated paper stars.

The twenty-fourth of December is the next big event, ‘Jul Afton.’ Or as we call it, ‘Christmas Eve.’

Family members will come from near and far to celebrate Jul together.  Among the kindlier households, invitations  may be extended to those who have no one else to celebrate with; folks such as any poor wayfaring missionaries who might be in the area.

A Julbord (translated as “Christmas Table“) is set out for the evening featuring a rich array of traditional foods, including bread and cheese. a spiced ham and a raw herring dish called sill. (Sill is pronounced "seal", so the first time I ate it I thought i was feasting on an arctric mammal.) Warm rice porridge is traditional as well. A single almond will be dropped into the pot.  Whoever finds the almond in their bowl is traditionally destined to be the next person to marry.

Nearby will be a Christmas tree decorated with gingerbread cookies and paper heart baskets filled with nuts and candies. The families will dance around the tree singing “Now is it ‘Jul again!,” and playing musical chairs.

The most exciting part of the evening is the visit from Tomten.

The tomten tradition has undergone some evolution over the centuries.  Originally he was perceived to be a friendly spirit that would reside in farmyard barns. In time he began celebrating jul with the family by bringing toys and candy to the children. He would often use a goat to help carry the gifts. The goat itself is significant as he is the protector of the Christmas tree.  That’s why most household will have goats made out of straw set amidst the tree’s branches or on the floor near it.

Over the years Swedish artists have tried to visualize Tomten.

This is a classic image by Jenny Nyström.

Harald Viberg presents a 20th century version of Tomten.

John Bauer’s paintings of Tomten featured a more youthful character. 

This adolescent Tomten was featured on wrapping paper we bought this year.

Sadly, the trend for future conceptualization of Tomten is drifting towards this look. 

It’s all right for the U.S., but I hate the thought that it might drown one of my favorite aspects of the Swedish culture.

On Christmas Eve the local newspapers reserve the most significant and well written articles to be published for this special night, but it is a limited edition, so the demand for it is high. Inevitably someone in the household realizes that no one has picked up the Christmas edition. With a little persuasion someone is sent out to get the paper.  

While he is gone, there will be a knock at the door and Tomten will be found  carrying a bulging sack, He will distribute some gifts for everybody, even the family member that has stepped out to fetch the paper.  Tomten wishes all a Good Yule and is off to the next home.

 

Shortly after Tomten’s departure the absent family member returns with the paper, only to learn that they have just missed the festive visit.  In all the excitement of opening presents, the newspaper is set aside and is rarely ever read. 

(Did you figure out that the person getting the newspaper was dressed up like Tomten?)

Christmas eve is the main event of Sweden’s celebration. Christmas day is simply a day off from work and school, as is the next day.  Second Day Christmas is but one example  of how the Swedish people like to double up on their holidays.

The Christmas holidays are over on January 6.  This date, twelve days after Christmas day, represents the date the wise men arrive in Bethlehem to worship the child, Jesus. These twelve days after Christmas are the days we sing about in "The Twelve Days of Christmas." There is minimal celebration of the event among the Swedes. It is simply another day off from work and school. Actually it is another two days off from work and school, because they also celebrate Second Day Kings day.

For me, I find structure in the knowledge of the Thirteenth day of Christmas, Kings Day, or "Epiphany" as iti is also called.  For me it provides a clear-cut day to end my Christmas celebrations. The tree comes down, The Christmas carols are set aside. The decorations are packed away. The nativity set is tenderly prepared for another ten months in storage.

Oh, that’s one other thing about Swedish Christmases. Very few households  display Nativity sets. This is a sample of one Swedish version.

I love the Christmas traditions of Sweden.  I hope that in the future the Swedish people will continue to cling to those traditions that distinguish them as a unique culture.