Save The Date!
SWEA Annual Yuletide Festival 2012
Saturday December 15, 2012
THANK YOU – TACK!
TACK to all for joining us at SWEDISH YULETIDE 2011! And for contributing to another cozy, happy and welcoming Christmas fair.
Tack to all SWEA members and volunteers that make everything and anything possible. Tack to our vendors, sponsors, contributors and facilitators. Tack to the Lucia pageant by Svenska Skolan and students/aupairs and to all musicians. Tack till Vasamuseet/Vasa museum in Stockholm for the assistance with this year´s exhibit. And Tack to all our Visitors that make our scholarships and charitable activities possible.
God Jul and Happy Holidays!
SWEA Boston!
More glimpses will follow …!
Vasa at Swedish Yuletide 2011!
Hard to fathom, perhaps, but Scandinavia’s most visited museum is a once-sunken warship in Stockholm, Sweden. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Vasa Museum is home to the royal battleship Vasa, the only preserved 17th-century ship in the world.
In 1628, as the Vasa commenced her maiden voyage, the ship began to founder – and a mere twenty minutes after setting sail, the 64-cannon battleship sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbor.
For the next 333 years, the Vasa rested on the seabed, a repository of 17th-century maritime life. Only after a laborious and painstaking salvage effort in 1961 did the Vasa break the water’s surface again – and in 1988, the Vasa made her last voyage to the purpose-built museum in which she remains housed today.
The Swedish Christmas Tradition
Christmas in Sweden is a special time of year. The weather might be cold and gloomy with not much daylight, but the Swedes remain in good cheer by beginning celebrations with the start of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas. One candle is lit every Sunday to mark the coming holiday. Or by attending a Lucia procession on December 13. Known as the Queen of Light, Lucia wears a white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head brings the promise of light for the upcoming holidays with her young entourage.
Since 1985, SWEA Boston has hosted Swedish Yuletide to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season with foods, crafts, gifts, Swedish cafés, musical entertainment, and activities for children. This annual event attracts thousands of visitors and is the largest Scandinavian event in New England.
Swedish Yuletide offers a smorgasbord of both traditional and contemporary Sweden. Visitors can enjoy Nordic style sandwiches, Swedish meatballs and waffles in the many cafés and, of course, glögg, the hot spicy beverage of the season. Unique gifts and designs are available to view or purchase through SWEA and the many vendors, such as home accessories, clothing, jewelry, Sami crafts, books and other extraordinary gifts. Foods and baked goods are also available to bring home.
What is Lucia?
Lucia is the celebration that takes place in Sweden on the year’s darkest day, December 13 – the shortest day according to the old calendar, i.e. before 1753.
Lucia, the Queen of Light, wears a white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head. She leads a procession called “Luciatåg” where she is accompanied by several young attendants, also dressed in white with candles in their hands. They perform seasonal songs and bring coffee, ginger breads and saffron buns. But most importantly, they bring light amid the long and dark winter. To many, the highlight of Swedish Yuletide is the traditional Lucia procession. The children of Svenska Skolan (the Swedish School of Boston) participate together with Swedish students and au pairs.
Music and Holiday Spirit
Swedish Yuletide is very happy to have New England’s accordian icon and dear friend Nils Lundin join us – as always. This year together with Peter Widmark and Warren Johnson.
The enthusiastic Lucia pageant (Luciatåget) with the children from Svenska Skolan in Boston, along with local Swedish students and au-pairs, will delight with traditional and new holiday songs under the direction of Kia Lampe-Önnerud.
And more:
- Trio; Ann, Eva and Kia – the multitalented singers and musicians that we are fortunate to count as SWEA members
- Swedish students of Berklee College of Music providing a jazzy twist to wellknown holiday pieces
Enjoy!
Kaffestugan – The Swedish Café
Swedish Yuletide also offers customary foods – visitors can enjoy Swedish meatballs, shrimp and salmon sandwiches, cakes and waffles in several cafés, and, of course, glögg, the hot spicy drink of the season. Food and baked goods from the Swedish Crown Bakery in Worcester will be served but also available for purchase to bring home.
Open-face sandwiches with mounds of delicious shrimp, smoked salmon and more.
The “Våffelstuga” features freshly baked, heart-shaped waffles with jam and whipped cream.
And of course all the foods, pastries, cookies, cakes and Swedish coffee (from Gevalia) that you can imagine!
Swedish Yuletide Sponsors 2011
