In the best year of my life, I had the opportunity to study abroad with the non-profit international exchange organization Youth For Understand (YFU) as a sophomore in Gothenburg, Sweden. For an entire year I immersed myself in the Swedish language and learned about the culture as I adopted the life of a regular Swede. Around this time of year, my thoughts still go back to my incredible host family who allowed me to appreciate the beautiful Swedish Christmas, or Jul (pronounced yool).

Decorations:

Although Swedes decorate Christmas trees similarly to Americans, it isn’t the tree that represents Jul. The spirit of Jul comes from the way Sweden lights up from the inside out as every window in every house bears a star lamp or an inverted V-shaped electric candelabra.  Every house and office window has a soft light that rises as the sun goes down, maintaining the Jul spirit in the absence of the sun.

Food:

The anticipation of Jul is entirely embodied by two tastes – pepparkakor and Julmust. The first is a traditional Swedish gingerbread cookie that is thinner, crunchier and tastier than American gingerbread. They come in their naked brown form and are cut into simple shapes. Naked because frosting a pepparkakor is barbaric (silly Americans) and simple because they don’t have anything to prove – they are already low-key addictive. There is no feeling of dismay the likes of slightly greasy fingers fumbling around a round, plastic tub that is all too empty.

The latter is Julmust, the hallmark soda that tastes like liquid Christmas, since its return to store shelves marks the beginning of the season. It is basically Sweden’s version of root beer, but with a spicier taste that lacks the sweet aftertaste. I thought it tasted like medicine the first time I tried it, but it became delicious once I learned to associate it with Jul. The standard alcoholic beverage around Christmas time is glögg, a traditional warm, spicy cider brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg and more and served in tiny mugs to warm you from your nose to your toes.

Christmas morning (which is actually Christmas Eve):

Christmas celebrations in Sweden are all held on Christmas Eve, the 24th, rather than the 25th. There’s a childish wonder to waking up early on Christmas morning and racing downstairs to examine the parcels Santa has left under the tree, but the moderation by which the Swedes celebrate is admirable. We started the morning with a traditional rice porridge for breakfast. In one of the bowls, a peeled almond is hidden and whoever finds it gets a chocolate Santa figure. My host brother scouted out a bowl and fished out the almond in the first 30 seconds of breakfast while the rest of us chatted pleasantly. I’d say the early bird catches the worm, but in this case it’s really just that kid that tries too hard.

At 3 o’clock sharp every Christmas Eve, almost everyone in the country tunes in on their televisions to watch the exact same program that has been broadcasted since 1959 – Donald Duck (Kalle Anke). It’s a cartoon collection of a few excerpts from various Disney movies.  It’s bizarre the way the famously secular Swedes religiously watch the program in its hour long entirety, all the while laughing as if they haven’t been watching the exact same cartoons since birth.

Later in the afternoon came a present game. My host mom bought about 15 or 20 presents, all wrapped and placed in the center of the table. The kids all sat around the table and went around rolling one die. If it was a six or a one, the person took a present and placed it in front of him or herself.  After all presents are handed out, we took turns opening them for all to see. Then, my host mom went into the kitchen and set the timer to an amount of time unknown to us. This signaled the start of “war”;  we went around the table rolling the die the same way we had before as many times as possible.  If it was a six or a one, we got to steal something from someone. It ended in friendly competition and plenty of gifts.

I had a wonderful Jul experience that was equal parts fun, memorable and different.  I never felt bad about spending Christmas apart from my family, but as I started thinking of my own family traditions, I couldn’t help but miss them a bit. That’s when I was the most grateful for the incredible family that took me in and made me welcome in their home. I’m happy that they made my exchange year possible and I’m thankful for their patience, humor and guidance.  It’s what this year was all about and I couldn’t have had a better Jul spent with my favorite people west of the Atlantic.