Found in Linköping, Sweden.

Chris(posted on Dec 14, 2008 at 8:24 pm)

I had a business trip in Sweden, took the train back to Oslo.

Chris(posted on Jan 4, 2009 at 11:11 am)

This is not a good example of the ubiquitous Christmas Menorah, but they are extremely common. (In related news, there’s a total of maybe four Jews in all of Norway.)

Much like Jewish menorahs, the Scandinavian ones range from the very traditional menorah-shaped, to the more modern (like these).

Chris(posted on Dec 25, 2008 at 11:27 am)

I could have written about this 3 years ago, but somehow am just getting around to it.

Norwegians (and in this case, Swedes) have the weirdest Christmas Decorations!

Take this one: inverted star. You see them all over. To my eyes, this is not a Christmas star. It’s Satanic.

Chris(posted on Dec 25, 2008 at 11:21 am)

At the train station in Katrineholm, I think.

Chris(posted on Dec 14, 2008 at 8:27 pm)

Yesterday morning. Rolled out of bed. Stumbled across the street to the train station. Found a banana along the way. Wanted to catch the early train, get home, spend what was left of the weekend with my family.

I was a bit early, so I sat down. Icy outside; foggy inside (my head).

I didn’t even realize I was looking at her, sitting across the station, until I noticed that she was looking at me.

It took me a few seconds more to register how odd it was that she didn’t look away, like most people would have. A few seconds… in which I didn’t look away, either.

And by the time I noticed that she was just beginning to smile, I realized that so was I.

Absentmindedly, I moved to take a bite of the remaining third of my banana. It was only then that I saw that she was also two-thirds of the way through a banana, and taking a bite.

At that point it had been maybe 20 or 30 sleepy seconds, grinning strangers staring at each other, holding mostly-eaten bananas to our faces.

I guess in that situation my default response is to give kind of a banana-cheers. Hers, too.

We laughed. Then I finished my banana, climbed on the train, and slept halfway to Oslo.

Chris(posted on Dec 14, 2008 at 7:37 am)

Last year we missed the Christmas market at the Norskfolkmuseum, so I made extra sure to get there this year. It was lots of fun, as expected. We browsed the booths, bought cookies, ate freshly fried Norwegian doughnuts, dipped candles, and hunted up the candied apples.

Katy(posted on Dec 25, 2008 at 8:42 pm)

Pitchfork candles. You know who has a pitchfork?

The Devil.

Chris(posted on Dec 25, 2008 at 11:22 am)

Before dinner we were chatting and suddenly Ruby got really sad and said “Mama, I felt a dream that I couldn’t find you. I had to go out to look for you, but you weren’t there.” C and I were both quick to reassure her that it wasn’t real. But she said “Yes it was! I felt it!” I just about cried. Poor little sweetie.

Katy(posted on Dec 15, 2008 at 8:29 am)

At the children’s school, they prepared a little presentation for the Lucia celebration. For everyone of non-scandinavian origin, St. Lucia was a martyr who had something to do with wearing candles on her head. Well, ok, I don’t really know the story. But they celebrate St. Lucia day here with a procession of candle-bearing children in white and silver, lead by an older girl with a crown of candles (mercifully, they are usually battery operated candle-shaped lights these days). And they eat (sometimes unnaturally yellow) raisin buns. They’re also talking about Christmas traditions and such during circle time, and they have an advent-candle lighting gathering every morning. But we haven’t been talking about this stuff at home.

The day before the presentation, one of the teachers told me that C is supposed to be Joseph. I don’t know who thought that was a good idea. C (at least so far) has some degree of performance anxiety. But C volunteered, and I would never want to pigeon-hole him so early in life. I’m glad he was interested in trying. But surprised.

Anyway, one of the girls is Mary, and she’s going to hold a little doll and C is supposed to walk over and look at the baby. The day before the presentation, they came home and Ruby’s singing something that sounds suspiciously like “hallelujah” and I said “what does that mean?” (curious, because I know she didn’t learn that word from me :). Ruby said “it’s just a song” and C said “No! It’s the name of the baby!”

And then, last night, I overheard this from the next room (C speaking):

I’m Joseph. And she’s Maria. And these are the people who own the church. And I’m looking and looking but I can’t find her. I looked everywhere. So I’m going to tie this rope around her neck, ok? So she doesn’t get lost. Then I’m going to put Maria in jail. She’s in jail now.

I love seeing what comes out of their little brain-filters.

Katy(posted on Dec 15, 2008 at 8:51 am)