Current mood:

sad

A Swedish Jul
Now that Samhain has past, I'm starting to think of Yule. It is one of my all time favorite holidays and the time when I feel closest to my Swedish ancestors. In honor of them, I am going to decorate the tree and the house with Swedish inspired ornaments and decorations. I'm making salt dough for dala horses and Christolen bread ornaments. I'm going to collect evergreen branches and make several swags for the hearth and the two arches in the living and dining rooms. I think I will also try to make a smörgåsbord for Yule dinner, featuring traditional Swedish dishes.

I think I often ignore my Swedish ancestry. I'm so proud to be Scottish, Welsh and Lakota, I often forget about my grandfather.

My mother's father emigrated from Sweden as a child. I'm very sad to say he died before I was born. My mother told me lots of great stories about him and he seemed like a wonderful person. He had problems, and suffered from alcoholism. But he did a lot of things that make me very proud to be his granddaughter; he braved the trip from Sweden, even though he was very frightened, when he worked on the railroad, he saved President FDR's life by switching the track at the last minute, preventing a head on collision with another train- he lost two fingers in the process; he suffered in his life, worked hard, drank harder and died of liver disease. He wouldn't teach his daughters Swedish because he thought it would make their lives harder like his. He was proud to call America his new home and he fought in World War II. His family settled in Kansas and began farming in the 1900's. He lived through the Dust Bowl, saw his family's land drowned under the public works project of Lake Waconda. My grandfather, I wish I knew more about you. I promise to find out as much about your life as I can this season, and teach my daughter about your history and exploits.

Another thing, my grandfather pronounced my mom's name as Yudy. I think that's terribly cute.