Time to go home... for a first time

I'll leave Umeå today and will be back here on the 4th of January... Wish you all a wonderful Christmas time and all the best for 2008!!!!!

When the sun is so weak that you can almost not feel it - but it can warm you like no summer sun ever can

You might wonder how I keep up with the dark days... The hardest part is the mornings - the sun rises at 9.25am in the meanwhile. And then after lunch it's getting dark and at three o'clock it looks like night... It must sound horrible. Mut actually it's not at all! Last Sunday was beautiful weather and I was on the frozen lake. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. I think it can not be much nicer than that - anywhere!!! And when you know that you only have so little sunshine then you really want to enjoy that and you try to catch every sunbeam... sais a romantic winter lover :)

Lucia - 13 December

Yesterday was in Sweden Santa Lucia day. It's always celebrated on the 13 of December in remembrance of Lucia from Syrakus. It's a day with a lot of nice tradition. There is a Luciatåg with is a group of often children or other young people with one girl (the lucia) wearing candels on her head. Everyone wears a white long dress or is dressed as a figure such as "pepparkakorgubbe" (gingerbread boy). They go to different places and thing Swedish songs.
I started the day at 6.30 watching the Luciatåg on TV with my corridor mate and having a huge lucia breakfast that he prepared for us. Later in the library there was another group singing (picture) and over lunch there was a big thing in the aula of the university followed by a fika. It was a very nice day with a lot of light and nice music... Christmas mood...

julkalender

On Swedish tv they have a very cool thing: an advent calender! It's a great idea - every day a 15min part of a Christmas story. Perfect for me (as I like everything for children ;D) and good for my Swedish too.

I've done my baking for this year: on Wednesday I baked "Grittibänz" with Ulrika. She was as an au-pair in Zurich but has never baked Grittibänz - so it was time for her to learn it! On Saturday was a Swedish baking day: be made pepparkakor and lussekatter. The latter is what you it on Lucia (13th December). And yesterday I baked with Jassi - cute gingerbread house. Now baking is finished - eating till Christmas....

birthdays

It seems to be the time of birthdays! On Friday we celebrated Anjas birthday and on Saturday and Sunday Ulrikas. It was all very nice: lovely people and cosy parties. Ulrikas birthday party was even two days long: on Saturday we met in the afternoon and played some funny games outside in the snow and had some glögg (that's the Swedish version of glow wine - veeeeery sweet as everything in Sweden but almost as good as glow wine :D). As you might know that I love both playing games and snow a lot that was the perfect thing for me! *smile* In the evening we had a birthday party with the advent theme. Quite a lot of people dressed up e.g. as an advent calender, pepparkakor gubbe, angel, christmas tree ball (my favorite! :D). When it's someones birthday and people sing the birthday song for them they have to sit (Ulrika and Helena on the picture) and everybody else is standing.
On Sunday we then had breakfast at a hotel - it was delicious and I ate far too much... You see quite a long birthday party - but one of the best!

People start to decorate for Christmas. But in contrast to Switzerland people here basically decorate their windows and balconys. I've only seen one Christmas tree so far. But this might be because I live in a student area... Certainly I have some decoration in my room too as you can see on week twelves pictures. :)

I wish you all a cosy advent!