Swedish Christmas Traditions

Here readers will learn how to bring those warm traditions into their own homes, wherever they live. Included are instructions to make mulled wine, homemade peanut brittle, red candied apples, crisp pepparkakor, lightly browned Swedish meatballs, candles, wreaths, and more. Each recipe and project are accompanied by beautiful full-color photographs. From fashioning centerpieces to baking delicious cookies to hand-making Christmas tree ornaments, this book will inspire readers to rediscover the joys of a Scandinavian Christmas.

Swedish Christmas is not just a cookbook but an inspiring book full of Christmas memories, recipes and tips of how to make Christmas enchanting. With its atmospheric photographs and engaging stories, it can be used as the ultimate handbook to a magical Christmas or simply be enjoyed as an armchair book. All the recipes have been adapted to the American kitchen.

From smorgasbord and St. Lucia processions to Christmas Eve gatherings with dear family and friends, Swedish Americans are linked through the generations by a legacy of meatballs and lutfisk.

In Scandinavia the whole period of Christmas, from the first Sunday in Advent to New Year's Day, is marked by festivals and celebrated in traditional but beautifully contemporary style. Hygge, the Danish word for cosiness, is about being inside with candles, great comfort food and lots of cakes and sweets. The first week of December is baking week - enough has to be made to last the whole Christmas period. Jars of decorated cookies, gingerbread houses and clogs filled with little presents rub shoulders with simple wreaths, trees and tables decorated with white candles and fresh greenery - the perfect mix of ancient and modern. Brunches, cocktail and tea parties, lunches and dinners are celebrated with a mixture of traditional goodies and delicious modern recipes. Duck and pork rule on Christmas Eve, fish, ham and seasonal vegetables on Christmas Day. Sweets, biscuits, puddings and other treats abound - all washed down with gluwein and fruity cocktails. In this glorious book, illustrated with Lars Ranek's evocative photographs, Trine Hahnemann provides a cornucopia of 70 Christmas recipes - all featuring ingredients which are common to all northern climes - showing us how we, too, can decorate our homes and make delicious dishes to celebrate Christmas the Scandinavian way.

Straight from a country famous for its Christmas celebrations comes a book that explains everything necessary to make beautiful Christmas crafts with an authentic Swedish twist. In this full-color book, author Helene S. Lundberg includes lists of necessary materials, step-by-step photographs of each project, and all the patterns you need to make each craft picture-perfect. A chapter on tips and techniques advises crafters on the proper use of crafting tools, such as craft knives, special scissors, a variety of paper, and different types of tape and glue. Learn how to make: Lucia wreath and apples Snow candles 3D tree cards Elegant wreaths Colorful Christmas crackers From stockings and ornaments, to picture frames and gift wrapping, to Christmas cards and homemade candles, the simple and elegant projects in this book are easy enough to appeal to beginners, but exquisite enough to make even the newest crafter seem like an expert.

Gather around the fire and celebrate winter's 6-week "Season of Light" with Swedish traditions, foods and stories that warm the coldest nights of the year. Candles in the windows of Swedish households drive away darkness with legends of the mysterious farm tomte elf and smorgasbords laden with delicious treats to welcome open house guests. "A Swedish Christmas" shares the time-honored magic of the "Season of Light," Yuletide traditions, Christmas reminiscences, the St. Lucy celebration, Jultomte, Swedish hospitality and recipes, with captivating illustrations by Swedish artists, including Jenny Nystrom and others who popularized the red-capped elf in Swedish culture. A little book of heart-warming Swedish winter joys that will delight children and adults alike.

Over 300 holiday postcard images bring Sweden s Christmas traditions to...