It is the day after Thanksgiving and I am missing the shopping experience of black Friday and the weekend of putting up some of the Christmas decorations. But it has been an awesome day here in Sweden! Last night before I went to bed, I had the opportunity of Skyping with my parents and the family we do Thanksgiving with! It was awesome being able to see everyone. It felt like I was really having Thanksgiving with them. I was able to talk to everyone talking about my experience of being here in Sweden!
Even without snow in Sweden, everything is starting to turn into the joy of Christmas. On my way to school in the morning the Christmas lights are shining so bright and I see the trees lighted up outside! In Sweden, this weekend marks the first weekend of Advent for the Swedish. Advent means arrival, or coming, and since the 5th century AD has heralded the Christmas season and the birth of Christ. Since the 1890s, the custom in Sweden has been to light a candle every Sunday during Advent. The candles used to be placed in tiny Christmas trees, but from the 1930s onwards candlesticks of iron or wood superseded these. The Moravian custom of hanging a star made from paper, straw or chipwood in windows also found its way to Sweden in the 1930s, recalling the star that guided the Three Wise Men. The advent calendar dates from around this time as well. Children open a window in the calendar for each passing day until Christmas Eve. So on the first Sunday (this Sunday) people light the first candle in the Advent candlestick. In towns and cities, Christmas fairs sell handcrafts and decorations and people start baking in preparations for the holiday.
Today in the school, the teachers started celebrating the weekend with each other. So as a tradition, the Swedish prepare a drink called glögg. In preparation for the first Sunday in Advent, many Swedes get together to drink glögg — a hot, spicy mulled drink with blanched almonds and raisins and ginger snaps to accompany it. And I had the opportunity of trying this wonderful drink. It tasted so good and the ginger snaps (gingerbread cookies) made me think about the holiday season. I also learned that “God Jul” means Merry Christmas in Swedish.
Today, I introduced my students to their new pen pals! They were super excited that they were going to have a pen pal from the United States. Johan (the physical education teacher) explained to me that the students were running into p.e. jumping up and down with great excitement! I was excited to see their reactions when they found out that they would be able to communicate with someone in the United States.
Well, its an early night for me, but I will update you more tomorrow about the pen pals. Its been a long week for me, but I cannot believe that I will be in Sweden for two more Fridays and then I will be home!
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