Sissel - O Helga Natt (O Holy Night) Swedish.

  Sweden

  The biggest and longest holiday of the year is the magical Christmas of Sweden. The excitement begins the first Sunday of Advent with the lighting of the first Advent candle. Each Sunday prior to Christmas, another candle is lit with growing anticipation.

  Feasting and celebrating begin on December 13 with Lucia Day, which legend says is the longest night of the year and a time when man and beast need extra nourishment. A Lucia (Queen of Light) is chosen from each home, club, school, etc. She is dressed in a white gown with a crown of candles in her hair. She brings coffee, rolls, ginger biscuits, and occasionally "glogg" (a mulled wine). She is generally accompanied by a train of white-clad attendants. The girls wear glitter in their hair and the boys wear tall paper cone hats decorated with stars. While delivering their precious fare, they sing traditional Lucia carols.

  The Swedish Christmas tree is not brought into the home until one or two days before Christmas. It is decorated with gaily wrapped candies, glass bulbs, and often straw trinkets, with electric lights or candles.

  But the height of the Christmas celebrations is December 24, Christmas Eve. No work is to be done on this day except feeding the livestock and last minute preparations for the splendid Christmas meal. This is the famous Swedish "Smorgasbord." Dishes such as ham, jellied pigs feet, "lutfisk" and rice porridge are traditional. "Lutfishk" literally translated means "lye-fish" and actually is foaked in lye to make it soft and palatable. The rice porridge is made with an abundance of cram, sugar and cinnamon and whoever finds the whole almond in their porridge is expected to be married within the year.

  After the meal, the "Tomte" comes. He is the Christmas elf who lives under floorboards of the house or barn and looks after the family and livestock throughout the year. "Tomte" often brings presents and children graciously leave a dish of porridge for him during the night.

  By tradition, Swedes attend church in the vary early hours of Christmas morning. Occasionally, as in olden days, the trek to church is made by horse-drawn sleighs. The ride often becomes a race to the church. It is believed the winner will have the best harvest in the coming year.

  The Christmas spirit and enjoyment linger until January 14--Knut's Day--the day appointed to discard the Christmas tree and devour all the edible decorations. This is quite an occasion, especially for the young who occasionally dress as "Old Knut" and play practical jokes and chant as they fling the old tree into the snow, with a promise to reunite with their beloved pine in one year.

   Sissel - O Helga Natt (O Holy Night) Norwegian.

  Norway

    At Christmas time, a little gnome or elf called Nisse, who guards all the farm animals, plays tricks on Norwegian children who do not place a bowl of special porridge for him. He is said to be a goat-like creature known as Julebukk or 'Christmas buck'. Julebukk dates back to Vikings and pagan traditions of worshipping Thor and his goat. In those times, a person dressed in a goatskin used to carry a goat head would suddenly burst in a party, 'die' sometime in the evening and then return to life.

  Early Christians started associating goat with the devil and used it only during wild merry-making and euphoria. After the Middle Ages, the State and the Church forbade the game and a tamer form emerged. A holiday cookie called Sand Kager is quite popular, which is prepared using butter, sugar, flour and chopped almonds. In the afternoons, children go from door to door to ask for treats and goodies. Traditional Christmas dinner for Norwegians consist of lye-treated codfish, boiled potatoes, rice porridge, gingerbread and punch.

  Denmark

  Christmas in Denmark is the time when a mischievous elf called Nisse play pranks on people. He lives in the lofts of old farmhouses and wears gray woolen clothes, red bonnet and stockings and white clogs. Kind and helpful at heart, he generally helps people on the farms and is good with children but plays jokes on people during holiday season. On Christmas Eve, families leave a bowl of rice pudding or porridge for him so that he is friendly to them and keeps his jokes within limits. The traditional Christmas Eve dinner starts with cinnamon-laced rice pudding called Grod with an almond in it. The person, who finds the almond, gets a prize. This custom is followed by prune-stuffed roast goose, red cabbage and browned potatoes dishes with pastries and cakes as desserts.

  Traditional Danish Christmas plates started out as the special plates of biscuits and fruits of the best kind that were used only for special purposes that rich people used to give as Christmas presents to their servants. They gradually evolved collectibles. People of Denmark take pride in making and displaying homemade Christmas decoration made from bright paper, wood and straw. Children are not allowed to see the Christmas tree until dinner time on Christmas Eve known as Juleaften and parents decorate it secretly with home made wood and straw baubles.

  Families gather around illuminated Christmas trees and sing carols and hymns. In the month of Advent, guests are invited on every Sunday to light the candles on the Advent crown. Then, the adults drink alcoholic drinks made from red wine, spices and raisins whole children have sweet fruit juices such as strawberry juice. Special cup cakes are prepared from the batter, cooked over the fire in a special pan and dusted with icing sugar. People keep seeds in dishes outdoors for wild birds. 

  Iceland

  Christmas is often known as 'Yule' or 'Jól' in Iceland. This comes from the ancient winter solstice celebrations, that were taken over by the early Christians. Yule also include the New Year celebrations.

  There are lots of customs and traditions about Yule in Iceland. The Yule season consists of the following days:

  Þorláksmessa - St. Thorlakur's Day - December 23rd
Iceland's major Saint is 'heilagur Þorlákur Þórhallsson', or 'St. Thorlakur Thorhallsson', the Bishop of Skálholt. December 23rd, is the day on which he died. On St. Thorlakur's Day, the main custom is eating of a simple meal of skata or skate. The Yule (or Christmas) tree is usually decorated on this day. This is also a big shopping day for last minute gifts, with stores remaining open until midnight.

  Aðfangadagur - Christmas Eve / Yule Eve
Celebrations start at Iceland at 6.00pm on Yule Eve. This may have come from old Icelandic tradition, when a new day started at 6.00pm not midnight. Icelandic children open their presents after the evening meal on Aðfangadagur. TV stops at about 5.00pm and restarts at 10.00pm! This is when the meal is eaten. This is when the Yule celebrations really start!

  Jóladagur - Christmas Day / Yule Day
Jóladagur is usually celebrated with the extended family. The main Yule meal is 'Hangikjöt', a leg of roast lamb. Sometimes 'Rjúpa' (Rock Ptarmigan a sea bird) is also eaten. Another Yule meal speciality is 'Laufabrauð' or leaf bread. This is made of thin sheets of dough cut into delicate patterns and fried. Each family often has their own patterns for the Laufabrauð.

  Finland