Holiday stars by the julbord.
The dessert table at Lux.
Today is Lucia day and though it’s not an official holiday in Sweden, it is a big celebration with plenty of traditions. Yesterday at work, a choir came and sang Santa Lucia to us, as well as several other traditional Christmas songs. Being the Christmas geek that I am, I always enjoy it. And today, I’ve seen countless little girls wearing their lucia crowns–even the woman working at 7/11 was wearing hers. You can read more about the tradition and watch a video explaining it by clicking this link.
As always this time of year, I’ve been busy with holiday parties and dinners. On Wednesday, I went to a traditional Swedish julbord–literally a Christmas table or smorgasbord–with coworkers at the restaurant Lux. In basic terms, a julbord is an eating frenzy in the same way that thanksgiving is in the US. Typically, you start with the cold items: sill (herring) and gravad lax, cheeses, pickles and hard breads. This is accompanied with snaps and singing.
Eating round two includes warm dishes such as julskinka (holiday ham), köttbullar (meatballs), prinskorv (small sausages) and Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation is a gratin made with potatoes, onions and anchovies). Then finally, there’s dessert: chocolates, mousse, cheesecake, pralines, fruit, and more.
It’s a lot of food. And like so many things in Sweden, it’s a tradition I’ve come to enjoy.
Filling up plates at the julbord.
The lucia choir getting ready to sing.
The lucia choir.
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