Advent

It's December!  First thing this morning Olivia remembered the advent calendar that Astrid gave to the kids.  We flipped a coin to see who would open the first window (Olivia) and who would eat the chocolate (Bowen, and the shape was a little train so he was extra happy).

In Sweden "First Advent" is generally observed by being the first official day of Christmas decorating.  I had read a blog from Stockholm about how Swedes value conformity so it is scandalous to decorate early, but Gothenburg is more laid-back and I saw plenty of window candles and big illuminated stars in homes before yesterday.  We started the advent ceremony (preparing for the second coming of Christ while remembering His first coming) in church yesterday, lighting the first candle.

On Saturday we took the kids for our first visit to Liseberg, an amusement park right in Gothenburg.  (We made it most of the way through the summer before the kids even noticed Liseberg or knew what it was.  Sure, it would be fun for them to have a season pass, but to me it's kind of like throwing birthday parties at this age.  We could spend a lot of time and money on it, or we could have alternative fun with our family instead. Plenty of time for "big kid" stuff to come.)

Liseberg is open at Christmastime with traditional food like glögg (mulled spiced wine) and pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies).  There is a Christmas market with booths full of handmade ceramics, Christmas decorations, and delicacies.

There's a Lapland area to learn about the Sami culture of northern Sweden.

Reindeer eat reindeer moss, the soft spongy stuff. 

But what I was the most excited to see was the five-million-bulb light display, and I was not disappointed.