We need First Advent, it gives us something else to think about, it brightens up our life at the end of the darkest month of the year.

On the fourth Sunday before Christmas the first candle is lit, with another being lit each proceeding Sunday, marking the countdown until Christmas. Once all four are shining brightly we know the waiting is almost over, a tradition that has taken place in Sweden since the 1890s and is loved by young and old.

Advent Candle Holders come in all manner of shapes and sizes and vary greatly in their decoration. They are traditionally decorated with a light green moss ”Cladína stelláris” which I believe suffers greatly from the amount that is collected at this time of year.

We have untraditional holders and I love the vibrancy of the green moss from the boulders in the forest. I also fill my with sand or soil and keep the moss damp, it creates much less of a fire hazard.

First Advent is also about putting stars and electrical advent candles in the windows, a tradition that has been around since the 1930s. The stars were originally made of paper, straw or wood and have became all the more popular as electricity became a part of life.

When we leave for work and school in the mornings in the dark, they light up our way.
When we come home in the afternoon or evening in the dark, they light up our way. The combination creates a special, magical feeling that I strongly associate with my first weeks in Sweden, many years ago.

The first Sunday in Advent is also the first day of the church year, and a day when people who are not normally church-goers might attend an advent service, often to see young children singing.

It also means we can officially start drinking glögg (mulled wine) and eating pepparkakor (cinnamon snaps).

So if you don't yet have candles, electrical or otherwise, and a star hanging in the window ready to be be turned on, you still have a couple of days. They are everywhere in the shops and you can be as traditional or as creative as you life. They light up our dark December and they add to the spirit of Christmas. Come Sunday you can officially light your candles, eat your pepparkakor and lussebullar and drink glögg.

Hooray for First Advent!

I love awards, partly because I love the fact that they give recognition to both individuals and groups, and partly because they spice life up for those involved. And they usually turn our attention to interesting and worthy things.

Such is the case with Alternativ Stad's (Alternative City's) award. This membership organisation is a Stockholm based group lobbying for a environmentally sustainable city. They are also part of the global organisation Friends of the Earth and believe in a city that is more than just for cars and offices, that is safe and environmentally friendly, has more parks and places of recreation, and that grows in a controlled manner with a foundation based on human needs and proportion. They regularly organise demonstrations, seminars, papers and the lobbying of politicians as well as the Ralph Fidler Prize.

.

Ralph Fidler was the founder of this group of activists back in February 1969 and was himself an active member until his death at the age of 90. The organisation present the award in his honour, to a person for their notable contribution to the development of Stockholm. 2009 sees the award being given for local political activity to Aspuddsbadets vänner (Friends of Aspudden's Pool) for their tireless efforts to save one of Stockholm's culturally historic and socially valuable, non-commercial meeting points in the inner-city suburb Aspudden.

Aspudden's Bath House was built in 1919 and is in need of extensive renovations. However the owner of the property, Stockholm municipality, does not wish to make the necessary investment in renovations and intends to demolish the building to make way for a new daycare.

According to local activists the building is one of Stockholm's most unique pools and according to the Stockholm City Museum it is particularly valuable from a historical, cultural, environmental, as well as artistic perspective. Yet the plans to demolish this 90 year old have not been revoked. The city did in fact plan to demolish the building back in the mid 1980s, after which a membership organisation took over responsibility for the daily running of the pool while the city maintained ownership.

The group Aspuddsbadets vänner have actively been trying to have a dialogue with Madeline Sjöstedt, Deputy Mayor and responsible for the Municipality's Department of Sports Management but she is apparently not interested in a discussing the pool. She states in her blog that while the municipality is willing to sell the pool no-one has expressed interest in buying it, it is one of many pools in the south of Stockholm in need of renovations and the area has a much greater need of a new daycare.

Unfortunately for the pool it seems like its days are seriously numbered, despite much interest in the pool and a very successful Gala that was held last weekend. Police have been removing squatters who have been onsite 24-7 and at 6am this morning they barricaded the area and builders entered and started sabotaging the building, removing windows and other fixtures. The Facebook group are urging all available bodies to come to the pool immediately and an emergency meeting has been called at 7pm tonight.

Ironic that today, just one day after the Award was announced, the demolition of the pool should start. Let's hope that tonight's meeting can rally enough support to force the politicians to take notice, and start a dialogue about the future of Aspudden's Bath House.

This Lucia is my 19 year anniversary – 19 years ago I came to live in Sweden for the first time. So I decided after so many years here it was time to bake Lussebullar (lusse buns) or Lussekatter (lusse cats). Swedes seem to love yeast buns and I always feel like it is a bit beyond my baking depths but at a friend’s recently I discovered how easy this recipe is.

1 egg to brush over the buns

 

Stay tuned for more Christmas traditions.....

The last week has been classic November weather here in Stockholm, and in much of the country.

Just a week ago I was scuffing through the piles of leaves on the ground, kicking them up as I walked along with my kids. They were golden yellow and had that lovely crunchy sound under your feet as you walked. That was then.  Since then we've suffered daily from something ranging from a mist, to drizzle, to tonight's constant downpour.

Rain. Dark. Grey. Wet. An absent sun. November.

They are the words on everyones lips at the moment, and everyone's facebook status's. The leaves are now trodden on and mashed together, clumps on the footpath that are slippery and have completely lost their "fun factor".

I feel like a nasty mother waking my children, in what feels like the dead of the night each morning and I have to remind myself that it is a necessity, and that I am not torturing them for the fun of it. We walk to and from school in the dark and they are ready for dinner by 4.30pm, simply because it feels so late. "Why is it so dark mummy" they each ask, wanting an explanation, struggling to understand. I wish I had a good answer for them.

So to combat the darkness I set up the timer on a lamp last night, which promted me to add a few more items to last week's list:

14. Put timers on your lights so they turn on just before/after your alarm goes off in the morning and     just before you get home from work/school.

15. Go to the local pool, it is great to get about in your swimsuit/bathers and be reminded of the warmer weather. It is also nice to have a few less clothes on for a change.

16. Make the most of any sauna at the gym, the pool or anywhere you can access one. The heat is great in the winter, it gets right in under the skin and makes me feel like I am somewhere else for a few precious moments, or as long as I can stand it. Again it is nice to have a lot less clothes on.

17. Change the colour theme in your home. Stay a way from the cool, dark colours and go for white. If you ever wondered why so many Swedish homes are spartan white then one November here will convince you it is the right way to go - but add some warmth with splashes of bright colours - reds, yellows and oranges are great at this time of year.

18. I've said it before, I say it again - have parties! It is great to be able to keep drinks and food outside, it's like having an extra fridge.

If however, you are struggling with the darkness, rest assured that our rate of loss of light has slowed down. We are now only losing about 4 minutes a day, that's 28 minutes this week. And with about a month to go until the Winter Solice, when the days start getting longer again, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's just a very long November tunnel...

Hang in there....