Christmas+Customs+from+Sweden

**The purpose of this page is to identify various Christmas customs from Sweden**. (K.Parker)
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**December the 13th: Saint Lucia's Day, the time for Christmas to start in Sweden.**
==**The Lucia bride (the eldest daughter usually) dresses in a white dress and red sash. She awakens everybody with breakfast singing the old song Saint Lucia. She wears a crown made of greenery and candles. Christmas Even brings another Swedish custom with the families gathering together in the kitchen round a steaming bowl of soup. They dip a special piece of bread into the pan, it is in memory of the famine. Following this ritual they eat a special supper of hams, cold meats, sausage, cheeses and cakes. Santa Claus is replaced in the festivity by a gnome called The Jultomen, (The Yule Man). The children leave him a bowl of porridge. When the feast is over, the living room doors are opened for the first time in days. The tree is up and decorated with streamers and candles. Present are exchanged and songs are sung. Soon the bells ring, somebody will read out the Christmas story and the family sings carols.** **(Emily)**== ==**In Scandinavian history, the night of St.Lucia was known to be the longest night of the year (winter solstice) which was changed when the Gregorian calendar was reformed. During a dark winter in Scandinavia, the idea of light overcoming darkness, and the promise of returning sunlight has been welcomed by the locals for hundreds of years. The celebrations and processions on Saint Lucia Day are illuminated by thousands of candles. (Gabriel)**== ==**Christmas trees are usually brought into Swedish homes one or two days before Christmas. Decorations include: candles, apples, Swedish flags, small gnomes and tasseled caps, and straw ornaments. The house may be filled with red tulips and the smell of pepparkakor - a heart-star, or goat-shaped gingerbread biscuits(**Piper)==

==**Christmas Even brings another Swedish custom with the families gathering together in the kitchen round a steaming bowl of soup. They dip a special piece of bread into the pan, it is in memory of the famine. Following this ritual they eat a special supper of hams, cold meats, sausage, cheeses and cakes.** **Santa Claus is replaced in the festivity by a gnome called The Jultomen, (The Yule Man). The children leave him a bowl of porridge. (Kayla)**==