Christmastide:MLK Weekend Saturday

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Packed a few things up today.  Can't decide what to pull out next. Nutcrackers? Belsnickels?

Shopping with Noel this afternoon. Picked up this book on sale at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. Looking forward to digging into it in part because of my Swedish Heritage. 

Dinner tonight with Julie, Regina, and Phyllis at Julie and Regina's place. Julie made chicken piccata and then we watched North by Northwest. It's one my favorite movies and the scene at Mt. Rushmore, as always, was thrilling especially on Julie's big ass TV. By the way, today happens to be Cary Grant's birthday. My God he'd be 121! (Above image by Glen Hanson).  

Holiday Season 2023 - 3 Days to Go

 Friday, December 22, 2023

Countdown to Christmas - 3 Days

Decorated my Swedish themed tree with straw ornaments I picked up yesterday at ASI.

Gloomy day but mild enough temperatures to make taking a walk quite pleasant. 

Afternoon cigar. 

Sylvester checks out the tree. 

Late afternoon walk. Lots of pretty lights. 

Dale and I watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas tonight. It's been a few years since we've seen it. Always fun and it brings me back to being a kid. 

Found this chart on Facebook recently. Dale and I are bracing for a brown (and rainy) Christmas. It's predicted to be 51 degrees on Christmas Eve. I'd be willing to bet that the snowless Christmases noted above were not that warm. 

Holiday Season 2023 - 4 Days to Go

 Thursday, December 21, 2023

Countdown to Christmas - 4 Days

Today is the Winter Solstice.

I set the angels out today. 

Mom and I went to the American Swedish Institute to see the holiday displays. 

We checked out the display of Himmeli. Shown above are a couple examples. Himmeli predate the Christmas tree and they were traditionally suspended in a dining or living space during the Winter Solstice. They remained in place until the summer months to help ensure a good harvest. 

Mom got to sit in the Snow Queen chair. 

Mom got some ornaments in the gift shop. I got this kick ass PINK dala horse. Who knew they came in pink?

Dale and I went to Creekside Supper Club for dinner. It was delicious. Dale had the chicken breast and I had the fish fry with walleye. I had a Grasshhopper for dessert. 

Christmas Eve 2020 - Kalle Anke

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Kalle Anke this year was in the form of a Disney DVD I picked up years ago featuring a bunch of winter themed Disney shorts. My two favorites are Mickey's Good Deed from 1932 and Rescue Dog from 1947.  

The Depression era Mickey's Good Deed finds Mickey wanting to bring Christmas joy to a downtrodden family at great sacrifice to himself. Amazing to me that this short is 88 years old. 

Rescue Dog has Pluto interacting with a mischievous seal who keeps trying to steal his cask of grog. 

I got a kick out of the sign that Pluto displays early in the cartoon. It makes me think it would be nice to have such a sign at the entrance to our house as a testament to our residence being graced by Athena, our own lovingly dutiful dog who watches over Dale and me. 

Here is Athena on duty as we watch another Disney short during our Kalle Anke observance.

I read recently that in Sweden in 2019 Kalle Anke och hans vanner onskar God Jul (Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas) had 3.3 million viewers which is just under a third of the entire Swedish population. 

Christmas Eve 2019 - Kalle Anke

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Settled in for Kalle Anke at around 2:15 which is a little earlier than usual. 

I put in a DVD called Disney's Merry Christmas Songs which is a sing-a-long. I used to show it to the kids at a school a worked at a number of years ago. Great fun and lots of memories.

Didn't finish the DVD before heading to the Christmas Eve service but we watched some more of it afterward and before heading over to Mom's for fondue. 

There's been some concern in recent years that the tradition in Sweden may eventually go away as younger folks are used to on-demand watching due to DVDs and now streaming. It's my understanding that viewership, once at a height of around 50 percent of the population, has dipped to "only" a third of the population. However, home video has been around since the early 1980s and the tradition is still strong. I read that as recently as 2016 cell phone use dropped 28 percent and calls to emergency services fell 16 percent during the broadcast of the show. 

I find that my own version of Kalle Anke on the 24th provides a nice transition from the more secular aspects of the season to the more religious. 

Click on the link below for an article from Slate magazine on Kalle Anke.

https://slate.com/culture/2009/12/sweden-s-bizarre-tradition-of-watching-donald-duck-kalle-anka-cartoons-on-christmas-eve.html

Christmas Eve 2018 - Kalle Anke

Monday, December 24, 2018

Settled in with Dale and Athena for a 3:00 p.m. Kalle Anke start time. In the recent special we watched, Donald neglects to fly south so he can experience Christmas with Mickey and friends. Unfortunately it's at great expense to his well being and health. Fear not. Santa arrives just in time and life lessons are learned. 

I find that Kalle Anke at 3 p.m. helps make a nice transition from the more secular aspects of Christmas that are hard to ignore even during Advent to the religious aspect of the imminent evening activities and upcoming 12 days.  

Christmas Eve 2017 - Kalle Anke

Poured myself a Christmas Eve martini and...

Christmas Eve 2016 - Kalle Anke

Saturday, December 24, 2016

After our Christmas Eve service, Dale and I watched a version of Kalle Anke on YouTube.  We searched for From All of Us to All of You and found some of the shorts shown on the Swedish special including Bella Notte (the spaghetti scene) from Lady and the Tramp, You Can Fly from Peter Pan, and the Silly Song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Christmas Season 2015/2016 - Odds and Ends: Porridge

This year's attempt was something of a hodgepodge of a recipe I have for porridge and simply following the directions on the short grain rice package. All in all it turned out well and was a noble attempt to get in touch with my Swedish heritage. 

According to Trine Hahnemann, author of Scandinavian Christmas, "The "nisse" (elf) lives where we can't see him. He is naughty, and the best way to stay friends with him is to leave porridge in the attic for him, with lots of butter, sugar, and cinnamon! Then he won't eat your cookies or hide your favorite things; instead he will leave little presents in your boots." (p. 57)

Maybe some of my Swedish ancestors grew up with this. As kids, St. Nicholas always left an ornament in our shoes on December 6 (St. Nicholas Day). 

Christmas Eve 2015 - Kalle Anke

Saturday, December 24, 2015

Dale and I came home from Mom's a little early so we could get ready for our Christmas Eve service. Both of us are singing in the choir. We had a little time for Kalle Anke prior to departing.