I’m off to Stockholm tonight, attending a training class there the next couple of days an to my horror I read in the news today that they expect it to be freezing cold in the Capital this week, actually colder than in 100 years to be exact. Plus there will be more snow. Great!

The temperatures are actually a lot lower than normal, for this time of the year, in basically all of Sweden. It’s the NAO, the North Atlantic Oscillation, that’s causing this cold weather. Normally the phenomenon results in mild westerly winds sweeping in over Sweden but now it’s in a negative phase which leads to those westerly winds ending up further south and instead cold air from the north flows over the country.

The same thing happened last year and then it lasted for a long time resulting in a long, cold and white winter but according to the Swedish Weather Bureau (SMHI) this doesn’t neccesarily mean that the whole winter will be this cold, it can change quickly. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that at least the temperatures go up a bit. I don’t mind the snow but the cold is not my friend!

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Läs mer om vad som förosakar det rådande väderläget och föklaringen till varför vintern kom så tidigt på SMHI’s hemsida – HÄR.

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Since it’s not so popular that I play Christmas songs at home (:P) I just start my workday with listening to one of my favourite Christmas albums - Josh Groban‘s album from 2007 Noël. Below is one of the tracks on the album – Little drummer boy.

All photos in this category are taken by us and we appreciate if you don’t use them without our permission.

 

It’s the first Sunday of Advent today and in Sweden that marks the start of the Christmas festivities. Today more Swedes visit church, to get together (to sing well known Christmas hymns) than any other time of the year. This first Sunday is also the day communities decorate their streets and squares with wreaths, garlands, lights and Christmas trees.

It’s also the day when you light the first candle in the adventsljusstake (Advent candle holder). The candle holder has four candles and each Sunday until Christmas a new candle is lit. For me personally Advent means that not only my candle holder is placed on the kitchen table but it also means that my electrical candle holders are in place in my windows as well as my stars and my Advent Children are up too. Read more

Archipelago of Blekinge. (Sweden)

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I know I try to keep the blog about our everyday life and things and traditions that has to do with Sweden and Australia only, but sometimes I get a bit sidetracked and those blog posts end up in the category Random stuff. This blog post is a typical example of this.

I found this cookie cutter at Crate & Barrels homepage and I think it’s safe to say that it can be classified as a thing you didn’t know you needed. All you need to do is roll out the dough and then let this rolling cutter cut a quick series of cookies in mini holiday shapes: tree, bell, gingerbread boy, stocking and snowman. Handy huh, since cutting with normal, single shapes is such a tedious work…or?!

Paronella Park, Queensland. (Australia)

 

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