Light
In the old days it was thought that today, December 13th, was about the darkest day of the whole year. It became the feast day of Saint Lucy, Sankta Lucia in Swedish. It is also the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I say this is no coincidence, since both are manifestations of divine light. An other-worldly light. A light that shines through, penetrating even the darkest darkness of this world.
Lucia was celebrated today at schools and homes all over Sweden. The school where I have been a substitute Kindergarten teacher for the last month was no exception. Fourth grade put on Lucia for the whole of the rest of the school, traditional Lucia songs as well as "Feliz Navidad" were sung:
Lucia is such an ingrained tradition here that even little children parody it on the playground, singing:
Sankta Lucia
Skänk mig en tia
Tian var trasig och Lucian var knasig
Saint Lucia
lend me a tenner
The tenner was ripped up and the Lucia was a rip off
Or something to that effect. It's an old rhyme because it refers to a ten kronor note. Now the smallest note is twenty-kronor and even those are not often seen because Sweden has become a virtually cashless society. I don't carry cash anymore, just my debit card. You can even use it to buy an ice-cream. Not that you'd probably one in this weather. It's hovering around 0 degrees centigrade every day now and quite chilly.
My electricity bill is one of my biggest monthly expenses, but it's worth it, especially for the car-warmer, an ingenious device that ensures my car is warm inside when I want to leave the house! Once I get back home from work I don't really want to leave the house again. It's an effort to get up from a chair in front of the fire.
Last night I was invited to the Christmas party of the middle school where I will start teaching in January. It was at the Grand Hotel in Norrköping where the famous Swedish Jubord was being served, with entertainment. The longest part of my journey to Norrköping is the windy, gravel roads around here. Once I'm out on the main E22 it's an easy drive.
I parked my car on the street near the German Church and paid for a ticket. Even at 6:50 pm you can get a parking fine. I walked the short distance to The Grand Hotel enjoying the coloured lights on the buildings:
The Grand Hotel came into view looking equally bedazzling:
Inside I was directed to the glögg (mulled wine) and then upstairs. The first person I met was a young woman with one dragonfly earring and red hair, who introduced herself:
"I'm new, will be teaching here for the first time next term.."
"Me too!" I exclaimed.
From then on the evening went like Cindarella's night at the ball. I followed Elin to one of the four, long tables placed perpendicular to the stage at one end of the room. We almost sat down furthest from the stage but something made Elin change her mind and I followed her to some empty seats closer to the stage. We sat down and introduced ourselves to two women, counselors named Jessica and Avra. I was delighted to find a small bottle of Julmust, a Swedish Christmas soda, by my place-setting. This brought back happy memories of childhood Christmases in Sweden.
The only people at the school whom I knew before the evening began were the current Art teacher, who waved cheerily to me from one of the other tables, and the two headmasters, Rektorerna, who had interviewed me for the job I had recently accepted.
Halle and Johannes walked in together just as the festivities seemed about to begin and came and sat at our table next to Elin and I. This felt like rather an honour given the fact that so many other staff members no doubt wanted to talk to them, but it was the new French teacher and the new Art teacher who enjoyed their company for most of an evening that proved to be delightful. The food was amazing! At least 10 kinds of pickled herring, sil, were laid out in front of us:
And these were followed by warm food: red cabbage, sausages, meatballs, Jansson's frestelse, omelette, ham, mustards, breads, pickles galore:
Desserts, coffee and tea also followed. And there was a bar for those who wanted beer or wine with their meal. We were entertained by an incredibly talented trio who raised the roof with their humour and their singing. My fellow teachers are a fun-loving crew who sang and danced along with the performers. A great evening was had by all and I got to hear about the childhood of Johannes and how it had inspired him, a second generation immigrant to Sweden, who grew up in Norrköping and has no intention of ever leaving the city, to become a teacher as a way of giving back.
Turn the darkest of darkness into the brightest of breakthroughs by refusing to stop anywhere,
or to back down from your resolve to wake up this time and get on with the greater path,
at long last.
https://www.svtplay.se/video/20339194/lucia
Lucia was celebrated today at schools and homes all over Sweden. The school where I have been a substitute Kindergarten teacher for the last month was no exception. Fourth grade put on Lucia for the whole of the rest of the school, traditional Lucia songs as well as "Feliz Navidad" were sung:
Lucia is such an ingrained tradition here that even little children parody it on the playground, singing:
Sankta Lucia
Skänk mig en tia
Tian var trasig och Lucian var knasig
Saint Lucia
lend me a tenner
The tenner was ripped up and the Lucia was a rip off
Or something to that effect. It's an old rhyme because it refers to a ten kronor note. Now the smallest note is twenty-kronor and even those are not often seen because Sweden has become a virtually cashless society. I don't carry cash anymore, just my debit card. You can even use it to buy an ice-cream. Not that you'd probably one in this weather. It's hovering around 0 degrees centigrade every day now and quite chilly.
My electricity bill is one of my biggest monthly expenses, but it's worth it, especially for the car-warmer, an ingenious device that ensures my car is warm inside when I want to leave the house! Once I get back home from work I don't really want to leave the house again. It's an effort to get up from a chair in front of the fire.
Last night I was invited to the Christmas party of the middle school where I will start teaching in January. It was at the Grand Hotel in Norrköping where the famous Swedish Jubord was being served, with entertainment. The longest part of my journey to Norrköping is the windy, gravel roads around here. Once I'm out on the main E22 it's an easy drive.
I parked my car on the street near the German Church and paid for a ticket. Even at 6:50 pm you can get a parking fine. I walked the short distance to The Grand Hotel enjoying the coloured lights on the buildings:
The Grand Hotel came into view looking equally bedazzling:
Inside I was directed to the glögg (mulled wine) and then upstairs. The first person I met was a young woman with one dragonfly earring and red hair, who introduced herself:
"I'm new, will be teaching here for the first time next term.."
"Me too!" I exclaimed.
From then on the evening went like Cindarella's night at the ball. I followed Elin to one of the four, long tables placed perpendicular to the stage at one end of the room. We almost sat down furthest from the stage but something made Elin change her mind and I followed her to some empty seats closer to the stage. We sat down and introduced ourselves to two women, counselors named Jessica and Avra. I was delighted to find a small bottle of Julmust, a Swedish Christmas soda, by my place-setting. This brought back happy memories of childhood Christmases in Sweden.
The only people at the school whom I knew before the evening began were the current Art teacher, who waved cheerily to me from one of the other tables, and the two headmasters, Rektorerna, who had interviewed me for the job I had recently accepted.
Halle and Johannes walked in together just as the festivities seemed about to begin and came and sat at our table next to Elin and I. This felt like rather an honour given the fact that so many other staff members no doubt wanted to talk to them, but it was the new French teacher and the new Art teacher who enjoyed their company for most of an evening that proved to be delightful. The food was amazing! At least 10 kinds of pickled herring, sil, were laid out in front of us:
And these were followed by warm food: red cabbage, sausages, meatballs, Jansson's frestelse, omelette, ham, mustards, breads, pickles galore:
Desserts, coffee and tea also followed. And there was a bar for those who wanted beer or wine with their meal. We were entertained by an incredibly talented trio who raised the roof with their humour and their singing. My fellow teachers are a fun-loving crew who sang and danced along with the performers. A great evening was had by all and I got to hear about the childhood of Johannes and how it had inspired him, a second generation immigrant to Sweden, who grew up in Norrköping and has no intention of ever leaving the city, to become a teacher as a way of giving back.
Turn the darkest of darkness into the brightest of breakthroughs by refusing to stop anywhere,
or to back down from your resolve to wake up this time and get on with the greater path,
at long last.
https://www.svtplay.se/video/20339194/lucia
Like the seeds of summer that hide in winter, so light hides in the dark. Sweden sounds lovely at this time of year. It is great to hear of your new friends and colleagues, along with the yummy food! I also enjoyed the song lyrics, and that you wrote them in Swedish and English. In just a few paragraphs and a few pictures, you captured some bright moments. Cheers, Helen. --Brian F.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brian! I really appreciate your feedback, it's good to know which elements stand out. Thanks for reading and commenting! Xo
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