A Swedish Christmas

December 24 & 25

When the children were young, we not only left milk and cookies out for Santa Clause, but also followed the Swedish tradition of putting out a dish of rice pudding on Christmas Eve to placate the hus tomte, house gnome. According to legend, each household had its own tomte, usually portrayed as a tiny man with a white beard and red stocking cap, who lived with his family in the barn or under the house. Properly Christmas in Sweden is a time of gathering in, friends and family drawing together around the hearth. This is the darkest period of the year in Scandinavia, a season that could be depressing were it not for the light of Advent candles in the windows of homes and businesses, the warmth of hot mulled wine and fresh-baked saffron bread, and the promise of the year’s biggest feast to chase away the gloom.

In Sweden, the most lavish meal of the year is held on December 24th, Christmas Eve. At home in the U.S., we do a modified Julbord, Christmas smorgasbord, with pickled herring and boiled potatoes followed by baked ham, red cabbage cooked with apples and rye bread. For dessert, we bake mandelmusslor, almond tarts, filled with whipped cream and topped with cloudberry or  lingonberry jam.  We also have risgrynsgröt, creamy rice pudding, topped with lingonberry jam or blueberry sauce. According to an old Swedish folk belief, whoever finds the hidden, single almond  in his or her portion of the pudding will be wed during the coming year.

treated, the tomte would help the farmer with the animals, but if neglected, he could cause trouble. Astrid Lindgren writes about these legendary creatures in her delightful children’s book, “The Tomte.”