Julafton (Christmas Eve)

For me, the holidays are always about tradition and family and friends. Never religion, even though there was always a crèche under the tree and an angel on the tree top in our home.

Julafton (Christmas Eve)

Like many countries in Western Europe, Christmas Eve is the traditional day to exchange Christmas gifts. Christmas Day was reserved more for religious observances. A smörgåsbord, or buffet, is held on midday on Christmas Eve, when families come together to celebrate. Following the Christmas Eve dinner, the candles on the Christmas tree are lit. Next, an adult will dress up as the Jultomten, Sweden’s version of Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas. The Jultomten is believed to be a little gnome who lives under the floorboards of the house and rides a goat, called Julbocken. The goat is a reference to the Scandinavian god, Thor, whose chariot was pulled by two goats. The Jultomten will hand out gifts from a sack to the children. Even though this pagan tradition was outlawed by both church and state in the middle ages, it persisted in private.


And now my family’s Christmas Eves.

My grandmothers always had the Christmas Eve celebration at their home. And after my great-grandmother died, my grandmother carried on for a while, my mother always concentrating on Christmas Day. And eventually, I took over the Christmas Eve deal. All but the glögg, which was usually made a couple of weeks before Christmas. You know… to get everyone in the mood. (And yes, as a young girl, I was allowed to have a small amount… the rest of the year, it was kiddie cocktails for me.) Grandma made the glögg almost until the end. Along with her rum balls. (Those little things packed a PUNCH! Not to mention the glögg’s effects!)  Ho, ho, ho!

In the years after Myrle's death, my family and a few friends would gather at about 5:00 pm, at our (my son's and my) little home for a modified smörgåsbord: cold turkey and ham, pickled and creamed herring, cheeses (which must include a caraway cheese) and pumpernickel bread. I made a crock pot of soup, too. Usually a yellow split pea, which is very traditional, but sometimes a green pea soup, or a bean soup or sometimes, chili. A few times I made Swedish meatballs, but that was so time consuming, I didn't always have the extra time as I was working full time and taking classes at night. I also made a rice pudding flavoured with slivered almonds, which is also very common. There would be the cookies my son and I made: chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, peanut butter, and, of course, decorated (sometimes quite whimsically) sugar cookies cut into festive shapes with cookie cutters. I would buy, from the Swedish Bakery, cardamom coffee bread and jul kaka (christmas cake). And there would be plenty of good strong coffee and the above mentioned glögg. We would sit in the living room, talking and eating, Christmas records playing, and finally open presents. And then those that wanted would attend midnight mass. I always preferred the intimate Christmas Eves to the crazy and manic Christmas Days.

I hope the handful of people reading this have the very best holiday. Filled with good food and friends, family and warmth, laughter and not too many tears. What you or I celebrate, or what we chose to call it is not important. The message of the season is. And the message is love.

© Trish Korous

© Trish Korous