Xmas
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! :)
I celebrated Christmas with my closest family on the 24th. That's the official Christmas day in Sweden. From what I've heard, it's because the original Nordic religions celebrated a form of Yule at that time, so when we switched to Christianity they moved the date to the 24th so it would be more popular with the people. Christmas in Swedish is still called "Jul", which is pronounced almost exactly as "Yule".
Anyhow, it was pretty fun. I was struck by my annual holiday sickness during the night and didn't sleep well, so I was extremely tired, but I could still breathe through my nose and taste the food so I'm not that unhappy about it. My family insists on celebrating together despite the fact that my parents are divorced, and that can go either way. There's almost always some awkward moments, but this year was pretty fine.
I spent too much on gifts, but I just bought for 4 people and a lot of that money was donated to charities, so it's not TOO bad. I also got some money from my dad for my Berlin trip, so I'll manage. I (unexpectedly) got a nice tray with motifs from a Swedish artist I like; it's guy who makes painting of classical Stockholm sceneries and subtly adds white reindeers everywhere (in the sea, on the roads, on the roofs). The most unexpected and odd gift was from my mom who gave me a rape alarm. You're supposed to put it on your keychain and pull out the splinter if you're being attacked, and the 120dB sound will somehow scare them off. I'm sceptical, but it could potentially be used for some sort of practical joke. Most useless gift was the homebaked cupcakes I got from my younger sister. I got 7 and ate 1 (it was delicious), then went today to have another one and found out that the remaining cupcakes had been eaten by my sister, her friends and the dog. You can't leave food around in this home, not even in a carefully sealed plastic box on the top of the kitchen shelf.
I hope everyone had a great day, and check out the trailer for this promising Finnish Christmas movie:
I celebrated Christmas with my closest family on the 24th. That's the official Christmas day in Sweden. From what I've heard, it's because the original Nordic religions celebrated a form of Yule at that time, so when we switched to Christianity they moved the date to the 24th so it would be more popular with the people. Christmas in Swedish is still called "Jul", which is pronounced almost exactly as "Yule".
Anyhow, it was pretty fun. I was struck by my annual holiday sickness during the night and didn't sleep well, so I was extremely tired, but I could still breathe through my nose and taste the food so I'm not that unhappy about it. My family insists on celebrating together despite the fact that my parents are divorced, and that can go either way. There's almost always some awkward moments, but this year was pretty fine.
I spent too much on gifts, but I just bought for 4 people and a lot of that money was donated to charities, so it's not TOO bad. I also got some money from my dad for my Berlin trip, so I'll manage. I (unexpectedly) got a nice tray with motifs from a Swedish artist I like; it's guy who makes painting of classical Stockholm sceneries and subtly adds white reindeers everywhere (in the sea, on the roads, on the roofs). The most unexpected and odd gift was from my mom who gave me a rape alarm. You're supposed to put it on your keychain and pull out the splinter if you're being attacked, and the 120dB sound will somehow scare them off. I'm sceptical, but it could potentially be used for some sort of practical joke. Most useless gift was the homebaked cupcakes I got from my younger sister. I got 7 and ate 1 (it was delicious), then went today to have another one and found out that the remaining cupcakes had been eaten by my sister, her friends and the dog. You can't leave food around in this home, not even in a carefully sealed plastic box on the top of the kitchen shelf.
I hope everyone had a great day, and check out the trailer for this promising Finnish Christmas movie:
Click to view