Sweden for the Holidays

I opted out of going to Ireland with my boyfriend this holiday and went the opposite direction, to Sweden.

As part of my conditional citizenship (since I've never lived in Sweden and the only reason I have citizenship is through my American-born, but Swedish-bred mother who lived briefly in Sweden in her youth), I'm required to prove my "significant ties" by visiting often. I could just get it over with and live in Sweden for a couple years, which would then no longer require me to visit often and I'm seriously considering this after my studies.

So Sweden in a nutshell:

I wanted to get to Sweden by the 24th at the very latest, so I decided to estimate a very comfortable 4 days to hitchhike there from England. Sweden was reached in 2 days, so the journey went speedily along with no problems, only issue being the ferry crossing from England to France. Did have to shell out some dough for that, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing.

Since it was so close to Christmas, I'd decided to dress up festively, donning a Santa hat, painting my nails green and red, dressing in a green dress over a red turtleneck sweater and some winter boots over my jeans. People who picked me up all commented on my holiday spirit (I used white poster board for my hitchhiking signs, using green and red marker to write the city and highway names). A couple people asked if I was going to the North Pole (all in good jest, of course) and a couple who picked me up wondered if I was hitchhiking home for the holidays. In a way, this was true. Sweden is as close to home as I can get at the moment. I do have extended family, 2nd cousins and the like, in Sweden as well as a couple close friends. Overall, the trip through continental Europe and to the German-Danish border was a breeze.

I did end up sleeping at a rest area in Germany, right on the Danish border, only because it gets so dark so fast in the winter months, only to wake up with the sunrise and start again. Swedes seemed to love my festive mood, and my Swedish (shameful, really) was put to the test. English was always an option, but I should really work on my Swedish more. I reached Stockholm by sundown and met up with my old friend Erik (who is my mother's cousin-in-law's brother's son) and we headed to Uppsala to meet his direct and my indirect family members for Christmas.

Right before turning virtually vegan for 2012, Christmas dinner in Sweden... let's just say that it's a good thing that was a New Year's resolution! Traditional Swedish julbord (Christmas table... basically a Christmas-version of smörgåsbord) is chock FULL of animal products: Swedish meatballs, herring, salmon, eel, buttered bread, cheeses, sausages, hard boiled eggs, ham, pork, bread dipped in pork broth, rice pudding, Janssons frestelse (cream-filled potato casserole with onions and sprats). Were I vegan, the only thing I could have eaten were potatoes, beets, some breads, and cabbage. Luckily, I wasn't on my vegan diet yet... and I stuffed myself to the gills. Seriously, I don't remember eating so much in my entire life. My stomach actually hurt after I finished my meal.

The feast didn't stop there. Swedes also celebrate the "Second Day of Christmas", known in other parts of Europe as St. Stephan's. My extended family doesn't stop there. They serve this type of food until the 13th day of Christmas (also known as Epiphany in other parts of Europe). Luckily, I was out of Uppsala and the fattening, animal-based foods by New Year's Eve. Back in Stockholm, I went out with Erik and some friends to celebrate 2012 then lazed about, working on vegan recipes and using him as a guinea pig for about a week before deciding to head back to England.

Hitchhiking back was somehow more gruesome than the way back in. Perhaps the holiday spirit was worn out and I was no longer dressed like Santa's helper. It still didn't take more than 2 days, but it felt like the wait times were longer in between the rides. Again, had to shell out some cash for the ferry from France to the UK, but made it back with no major issues.

So now I'm back (just got back last night, actually). Not particularly excited to start working again, but hey, that's life. I wouldn't say this trip to Sweden for the holidays was particularly eventful. Just saw family and friends... other than the fact that it was in Sweden, it almost felt like just a normal holiday. I quite enjoyed it. Hm... I'm beginning to wonder... at 24, I should be doing something more wild with my life, shouldn't I? Well, suppose that will have to wait until spring or summer.

Ninth Day of Christmas

Maybe someone is really scared of the Christmas goat?

Not again! Giant Swedish Christmas goat statue gets torched

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Arsonists set fire early on Wednesday to a giant straw statue of the Swedish Yule goat, a forerunner to Santa Claus in Sweden, defying security measures for a third year in a row.

Police in Gavle, north of Stockholm, said an unknown number of attackers had torched the goat in the early morning hours, leaving a blackened skeleton standing in the town square.

"It's a tradition to burn it down," Lofberg said. "It's happened an untold number of times since the 1960s ... it's been burned down more years than it's survived."

Burning the goat has been a popular, and illegal, tradition in Gavle since the 1960s when an advertising executive first came up with the idea to endow the city with a giant replica of the goat, a Christmas decoration common in many Swedish homes.

There were no witnesses, but a bottle of lighter fluid was found near the goat's frame, which stood about 12 meters tall at the apex of its horns, police told Reuters.

"We have some leads," said Stefan Lofberg, who is leading the investigation for the Gavle police.

Police have tried a range of tactics to stop would-be arsonists, including posting guards near the straw goat, coating it with flame retardant and training security cameras on it.

But vandals have usually found a way around the foils and their assaults have become more elaborate: in recent years the goat has been run over, dragged into a river and attacked by arsonists dressed as Santa Claus and the Ginger Bread Man.

Flame retardant coating thwarted attempts to burn the goat in 2006, but the group sponsoring it then stopped flame-proofing it because of the ugly, brownish tinge its straw took on.

Goats have special meaning in Swedish Christmas tradition. Before Santa Claus became ubiquitous at the turn of the 20th century, men would dress up as goats and hand out presents to well-behaved children. Bad children received lumps of coal.

(Reporting by Nick Vinocur; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Sending Christmas Cards

You are a nostalgic and caring person during the holidays. It's important for you to feel connected to other people this time of the year. You do your best to stay in touch with everyone who is important to you. Even a little note shows you care. Nothing delights you more than getting a card from someone you haven't heard from in a while. That's the true spirit of Christmas for you.

What Part of Christmas Are You?