Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ~ Swedish Style

This sweet Christmas card was found in one of my Grandma Ingrid's Books of Remembrance. I love that they took a picture of their home in North Hollywood, California for this photo card.

See all of the presents under the tree? I wonder which ones were for my father, Jan Albert Iverson.

On the right side of the card is a greeting written in Swedish.

En Glad Jul

och

 Gott Nytt År

Från de

Iversons

Translated, it reads,

A Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year

From the

Iversons

I'm so thankful for this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'd like to share this very special Christmas video with you. I hope you enjoy it.

As my grandparents expressed in their lovely Christmas card, I too would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent of Christmas ~ December 23, 2015 - The Meaning of Christmas

Note: This is a repost from December 23, 2014.

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

23 December – The Meaning of Christmas

If someone dropped out of the sky and was unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas, how would you explain it to them? Can you put the meaning of Christmas into words? What does Christmas represent to you and is it different than when you grew up or from the meaning it had for your ancestors?

Tell us what Christmas means to you and your memories of Christmases past.

I love Christmas. It's a very special time of the year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because He was born in Bethlehem so many years ago, and because He fulfilled His divine mission here on earth, we all have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

I'm eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Please enjoy this beautiful video that tells the Christmas Story.

Merry Christmas!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar ~ December 15, 2015 – Christmas Tree Decorations

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

Christmas Tree Decorations

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2015 - Do you have unique decorations that you use each Christmas? How did you get them or were they passed down to you from family members? Do you have certain traditions surrounding Christmas decorations such as purchasing one from every state or country you visit? Describe your favorite decorations!

Tell us about your Christmas decorations and your memories of Christmases past.

Our Christmas tree is decorated with traditional round ball ornaments such as you'd find at your local Target or other department store. But, we also have special Christmas ornaments that we've collected or have been given over the years. I'd like to share a few of those with you today.

In previous Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories posts about Christmas tree decorations, I mentioned that I remembered some painted glass bird ornaments from my childhood. They were clipped onto the Christmas tree branches and had decorated bristle-like tails. I inherited one of those birds from my parents. It's a very special heirloom ornament.

This is our Fresno California Temple ornament. On April 9, 2000, the Fresno California Temple was dedicated. Our family was able to attend the groundbreaking for the temple on March 20, 1999. During the temple's construction, our family visited the temple site and took pictures. I made a scrapbook that contains those pictures and other items. We are so thankful to have a temple near us. Before the Fresno California Temple was built and dedicated, we attended the Oakland California Temple, which is about three hours north of us.

I made these ornaments years ago. They are round and egg-shaped glass ornaments covered in a gold mesh fabric.

This lovely Nativity Scene ornament was given to me by my sweet friend Ann who lives in Ireland. Ann is the wonderful person who found and gave me many of the Engle Family postcards I now have in my possession. If you haven't read about the amazing story of these postcards, click HERE.

This is our Liahona ornament. It's a beautiful shiny plastic ornament. In the Book of Mormon, there is an account about Lehi, a Hebrew prophet, who found a brass ball outside of his tent door. This brass ball was called the Liahona and was given to Lehi and his people by the Lord. The Liahona provided direction and spiritual instruction to Lehi and his family. To learn more about the Liahona, click HERE.

This beautiful glass ornament decorated with fruit was given to us years ago by some friends. 

My friend Sue bought this beautiful ornament for me when she visited Amsterdam several years ago. 

This sweet and simple Nativity Scene ornament has graced our Christmas tree for many years.

We purchased these ornaments while we were vacationing in Disneyland.

This is our glass bells ornament. We've had it for years. I don't even remember when we bought it.

 This is our white dove ornament. 

Do you have special ornaments on your Christmas tree? 

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar – December 10, 2015 ~ Christmas Traditions

NOTE: This is a repost from December 10, 2014.

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.


December 10 – Christmas Traditions

So many of us have family traditions related to Christmas that we learned as children and we still keep to this day. Do you know how your traditions started – is there a “backstory” to each one? What about starting new traditions – how do you start and then keep the tradition going? Are there any traditions which you disliked and that you refuse to keep?

Tell us about your family’s Christmas traditions and your memories of Christmases past.

In this post, I'm not going to share Christmas traditions from when I was a child, but from my own family as a parent. My husband and I have five adult children. When they were young, we would gather together in the family room and read about Christ's birth from the scriptures. Our daughter would dress up as Mary and our four boys would dress up as Joseph, the wise men, and the shepherds. When they got older, they wouldn't dress up, but we'd still read the Christmas Story from the scriptures together. It was a special way to remind our children, and ourselves, of the real meaning of Christmas.

Several years ago, we began another tradition. We started having German Pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning. These pancakes are baked in the oven and grow puffy as they bake. It's fun to watch them crawl up the sides of the baking dishes as they puff up.

They come out of the oven big and puffy, but fall pretty quickly as they are brought to the table. We serve them sprinkled with powdered sugar and covered in maple syrup. They are delicious! And our family looks forward to eating these each year.

Another Christmas tradition we have is making Christmas fudge. I've been making this fudge for years and years. I couldn't even tell you how many pounds of fudge I've made since I started making and sharing this fudge with our family and friends at Christmas.

The recipe was given to my mom when I was a child. It's called See's Fudge. I don't know if it's really a recipe from See's or not. It has a smooth creamy texture and is delicious and quite popular with my family and friends. I'll share the recipe here on my blog in a future post.

What about you?  What are your Christmas traditions?

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 
© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar ~ December 6, 2015 - Santa Claus

NOTE: This is a repost from December 6, 2012

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 6 – Santa Claus

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2014 - Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas and the origin of Santa Claus. What are your memories of Santa Claus and waiting for him to come at Christmas? What does Santa mean to you today and how do you pass along that meaning to family and to others? Post your best Santa story and your memories of Christmases past.

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2012 - Did you ever send a letter to Santa? Did you ever visit Santa and “make a list?” Do you still believe in Santa Claus?



As you can see from the photo above, my brother and I did make a visit to see Santa Claus.  Unfortunately, we didn’t look all too happy to see him.  I was three years old and my brother was two years old at the time.

Between the two of us, I’d say my younger brother was the braver child during our visit, as he had the courage to actually look at Santa.  Whether or not I ever gathered up enough courage to look at Santa, I really don't recall.  Oh well, at least we weren’t screaming our heads off.  And for that, I’m sure Santa was very thankful.

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar ~ December 2, 2015 - Christmas Cards

NOTE: This is a repost from December 2012.

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 2 – Christmas Cards

Do you still send Christmas cards or has electronic communication taken the place of this tradition? Do you remember sending Christmas cards as a child – making a list, sending out your family’s cards and then checking the mailbox for cards sent to your family? How did your family display the cards?

Write about anything related to Christmas cards and your memories of Christmases past.

My parents did send and receive Christmas cards. And they were displayed in our home.  As you can see from the photo below, one of the ways my mom displayed them was by attaching the cards to a ribbon which was then attached to the wall.



I don’t display my Christmas cards the same way my mom did, but I have kept up the tradition of sending Christmas cards to family and friends. Lately though, I’ve started sending those fun Christmas photo cards from Costco instead of traditional Christmas cards. I also include a Christmas letter updating the happenings of our family.

You could say that my Grandma Ingrid sent a type of photo Christmas card as well in 1939.  Here is a cute little Christmas card I found in one of my Grandmother Ingrid’s Books of Remembrance. Pictured are my Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Ingrid Iverson with their three children.



At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar ~ December 1, 2015 - Christmas Trees

The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories prompt for December 1, 2015 ~ Christmas Trees

What are your memories of your family putting up the Christmas tree? Many of us come from different traditions: some people won't put up their tree until after Thanksgiving or even on Christmas Eve? Some like live trees and actually go out into the woods to cut their own while others prefer the convenience of an artificial tree.

Write about anything related to Christmas trees and your memories of Christmases past.

During the early years of our married life, my husband and I bought live Christmas trees. We did this for several years until we decided to buy an artificial tree.

Our Christmas tree has moved from one location to another in our living room. We've put it next to our piano before, but for some years now, it sits in front of our window.

Things have changed a bit in our living room over the years. That window treatment is gone and the bookcase in the first photo changed location to where you see it in the second photo. Also, the photos of my husband and I next to the Christmas tree in the first photo have been moved to another wall in the living room. In their place, a picture of our Savior, Jesus Christ, graces that wall.

Traditionally, we have put up our Christmas tree soon after Thanksgiving, sometimes even the day after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and spend several hours decorating our home with Christmas decorations we've collected or were given through the years.

When all five of our children were living at home, we would gather together, put on some Christmas music, and decorate the Christmas tree. So much fun!

This year we are behind schedule. We haven't put up our Christmas tree yet or decorated the house. We plan on decorating our Christmas tree early next week. We only have one of our five children living at home now. Two of our children are married and two other children live out-of-state while they attend college.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of our children at Christmas this year!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The Advent of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family's holiday history twenty-four different ways during during December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com/.

Advent of Christmas ~ The Meaning of Christmas

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

23 December – The Meaning of Christmas

If someone dropped out of the sky and was unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas, how would you explain it to them? Can you put the meaning of Christmas into words? What does Christmas represent to you and is it different than when you grew up or from the meaning it had for your ancestors?

Tell us what Christmas means to you and your memories of Christmases past.

I love Christmas. It's a very special time of the year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because He was born in Bethlehem so many years ago, and because He fulfilled His divine mission here on earth, we all have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

I'm eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Please enjoy this beautiful video that tells the Christmas Story.

Merry Christmas!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar – December 15, 2014 ~ Christmas Tree Decorations

NOTE: This is a repost from December 2012

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

Christmas Tree Decorations

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2014 - Do you have unique decorations that you use each Christmas? How did you get them or were they passed down to you from family members? Do you have certain traditions surrounding Christmas decorations such as purchasing one from every state or country you visit? Describe your favorite decorations!

Tell us about your Christmas decorations and your memories of Christmases past.

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2012 - Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family or ancestors make Christmas ornaments?

The special Christmas ornaments I remember most from my childhood were the painted glass birds that clipped onto the Christmas tree branches.  You may be able to see them on our tree in the photo above.  (Yes, that’s me in my nurse’s hat with my two brothers in the background.)  The birds were very pretty and had stiff flat plastic bristle-like tails that were decorated with glitter and other pretty things.  My dad liked the look of silver tinsel, which you can see was used to decorate our tree as well.  And, although it is not a tree ornament, I do remember the paper angel sitting on the mantel.  As I recall, it was made of paper and painted gold.

I don’t know if my Grandma Ingrid Gilberg used tinsel or glass bird ornaments to decorate her Christmas trees when she was a girl.  But, I’ve been able to read about some other decorations she and her family used to decorate their Christmas trees.  In her vocal history, recorded by my father, Grandma Ingrid reminisced about the traditions she and her Swedish immigrant parents shared at Christmas.  Among these were how they decorated their tree.

She recalled,

"It was a tradition that we make garlands for our tree.  We would decorate the ceilings with paper from corner to corner.  We would polish apples and hang them on the tree.  We did not have popcorn at this time, but we would string cranberries and hang them around the tree.  Then when Christmas Eve came, we would light our candles because there were no electric tree lights at this time.  At Christmas Eve, we would all gather around the room and we would dance around the tree and there was a little step we would dance to and we would sing a Christmas song."

"Now it is Christmas again,

Now it is Christmas again,

And after Christmas comes the New Year,

Yes it is so,

Yes it is so,

After Christmas comes the New Year."

So that you can get an idea of how these ceiling decorations may have looked, here’s a photo from Grandma Ingrid and Grandpa Arthur’s wedding reception.  I’m assuming this looked similar to how the ceiling was decorated with paper garlands at Christmas.


 
At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar – December 10, 2014 ~ Christmas Traditions

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.



December 10 – Christmas Traditions

So many of us have family traditions related to Christmas that we learned as children and we still keep to this day. Do you know how your traditions started – is there a “backstory” to each one? What about starting new traditions – how do you start and then keep the tradition going? Are there any traditions which you disliked and that you refuse to keep?

Tell us about your family’s Christmas traditions and your memories of Christmases past.

In this post, I'm not going to share Christmas traditions from when I was a child, but from my own family as a parent. My husband and I have five adult children. When they were young, we would gather together in the family room and read about Christ's birth from the scriptures. Our daughter would dress up as Mary and our four boys would dress up as Joseph, the wise men, and the shepherds. When they got older, they wouldn't dress up, but we'd still read the Christmas Story from the scriptures together. It was a special way to remind our children, and ourselves, of the real meaning of Christmas.

Several years ago, we began another tradition. We started having German Pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning. These pancakes are baked in the oven and grow puffy as they bake. It's fun to watch them crawl up the sides of the baking dishes as they puff up.
 

They come out of the oven big and puffy, but fall pretty quickly as they are brought to the table. We serve them sprinkled with powdered sugar and covered in maple syrup. They are delicious! And our family looks forward to eating these each year.

Another Christmas tradition we have is making Christmas fudge. I've been making this fudge for years and years. I couldn't even tell you how many pounds of fudge I've made since I started making and sharing this fudge with our family and friends at Christmas.

The recipe was given to my mom when I was a child. It's called See's Fudge. I don't know if it's really a recipe from See's or not. It has a smooth creamy texture and is delicious and quite popular with my family and friends. I'll share the recipe here on my blog in a future post.

What about you?  What are your Christmas traditions?

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar – December 6, 2014 ~ Santa Claus

NOTE: This is a repost from December 6, 2012

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 6 – Santa Claus

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2014 - Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas and the origin of Santa Claus. What are your memories of Santa Claus and waiting for him to come at Christmas? What does Santa mean to you today and how do you pass along that meaning to family and to others? Post your best Santa story and your memories of Christmases past.

Advent Calendar Prompt from 2012 - Did you ever send a letter to Santa? Did you ever visit Santa and “make a list?” Do you still believe in Santa Claus?




As you can see from the photo above, my brother and I did make a visit to see Santa Claus.  Unfortunately, we didn’t look all too happy to see him.  I was three years old and my brother was two years old at the time.

Between the two of us, I’d say my younger brother was the braver child during our visit, as he had the courage to actually look at Santa.  Whether or not I ever gathered up enough courage to look at Santa, I really don't recall.  Oh well, at least we weren’t screaming our heads off.  And for that, I’m sure Santa was very thankful.

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar – December 2, 2014 ~ Christmas Cards

NOTE: This is a repost from December 2012.

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 2 – Christmas Cards

Do you still send Christmas cards or has electronic communication taken the place of this tradition? Do you remember sending Christmas cards as a child – making a list, sending out your family’s cards and then checking the mailbox for cards sent to your family? How did your family display the cards?

Write about anything related to Christmas cards and your memories of Christmases past.

My parents did send and receive Christmas cards.  And they were displayed in our home.  As you can see from the photo below, one of the ways my mom displayed them was by attaching the cards to a ribbon which was then attached to the wall.



I don’t display my Christmas cards the same way my mom did, but I have kept up the tradition of sending Christmas cards to family and friends.   Lately though, I’ve started sending those fun Christmas photo cards from Costco instead of traditional Christmas cards.  I also include a Christmas letter updating the happenings of our family.

You could say that my Grandma Ingrid sent a type of photo Christmas card as well in 1939.  Here is a cute little Christmas card I found in one of my Grandmother Ingrid’s Books of Remembrance.  Pictured are my Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Ingrid Iverson with their three children.



At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2013 – Christmas Cards

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 2 - Christmas Cards

Do you still send Christmas cards or has electronic communication taken the place of this tradition? Do you remember sending Christmas cards as a child – making a list, sending out your family’s cards and then checking the mailbox for cards sent to your family? How did your family display the cards?

Write about anything related to Christmas cards and your memories of Christmases past.



I found this Christmas card in one of my Grandma Ingrid's Books of Remembrance. Isn't it precious? Unfortunately, I don't know the history of the card. And I can't see the back of it since it's pasted onto one of the pages of the book.

My Grandma Ingrid's parents, Carl and Hilda Gillberg, were born in Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1909 and 1910 respectively.

If you look closely, you will see the words "God Jul!" written in the middle of the card. That's Swedish for "Merry Christmas!"

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very " God Jul!"

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Advent Calendar - December 6, 2012 ~ A Visit to Santa Claus

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 6 – Santa Claus

Did you ever send a letter to Santa? Did you ever visit Santa and “make a list?” Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Jana and her Brother

Visit Santa Claus

As you can see from the photo above, my brother and I did make a visit to see Santa Claus.  Unfortunately, we didn’t look all too happy to see him.  I was three years old and my brother was two years old at the time.

Between the two of us, I’d say my younger brother was the braver child during our visit, as he had the courage to actually look at Santa.  Whether or not I ever gathered up enough courage to look at Santa, I really don't recall.  Oh well, at least we weren’t screaming our heads off.  And for that, I’m sure Santa was very thankful.

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Advent Calendar–December 4, 2012 ~ Christmas Cards Past and Present

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 4 – Christmas Cards

Did your family send cards? Did your family display the ones they received? Do you still send Christmas cards? Do you have any cards from your ancestors?

My parents did send and receive Christmas cards.  And they were displayed in our home.  As you can see from the photo below, one of the ways my mom displayed them was by attaching the cards to a ribbon which was then attached to the wall.

I don’t display my Christmas cards the same way my mom did, but I have kept up the tradition of sending Christmas cards to family and friends.   Lately though, I’ve started sending those fun Christmas photo cards from Costco instead of traditional Christmas cards.  I also include a Christmas letter updating the happenings of our family.

You could say that my Grandma Ingrid sent a type of photo Christmas card as well in 1939.  Here is a cute little Christmas card I found in one of my Grandmother Ingrid’s Books of Remembrance.  Pictured are my Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Ingrid Iverson with their three children.
 

Arthur and Ingrid Iverson Christmas Card from 1939

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Advent Calendar - December 3, 2012 ~ Tinsel, Glass Birds and Cranberry Garlands

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family or ancestors make Christmas ornaments?


Jana and her Brothers at Christmas

The special Christmas ornaments I remember most from my childhood were the painted glass birds that clipped onto the Christmas tree branches.  You may be able to see them on our tree in the photo above.  (Yes, that’s me in my nurse’s hat with my two brothers in the background.)  The birds were very pretty and had stiff flat plastic bristle-like tails that were decorated with glitter and other pretty things.  My dad liked the look of silver tinsel, which you can see was used to decorate our tree as well.  And, although it is not a tree ornament, I do remember the paper angel sitting on the mantel.  As I recall, it was made of paper and painted gold.

I don’t know if my Grandma Ingrid Gilberg used tinsel or glass bird ornaments to decorate her Christmas trees when she was a girl.  But, I’ve been able to read about some other decorations she and her family used to decorate their Christmas trees.  In her vocal history, recorded by my father, Grandma Ingrid reminisced about the traditions she and her Swedish immigrant parents shared at Christmas.  Among these were how they decorated their tree.

She recalled,

"It was a tradition that we make garlands for our tree.  We would decorate the ceilings with paper from corner to corner.  We would polish apples and hang them on the tree.  We did not have popcorn at this time, but we would string cranberries and hang them around the tree.  Then when Christmas Eve came, we would light our candles because there were no electric tree lights at this time.  At Christmas Eve, we would all gather around the room and we would dance around the tree and there was a little step we would dance to and we would sing a Christmas song."

"Now it is Christmas again, 

Now it is Christmas again, 

And after Christmas comes the New Year,

Yes it is so,

Yes it is so, 

After Christmas comes the New Year."

So that you can get an idea of how these ceiling decorations may have looked, here’s a photo from Grandma Ingrid and Grandpa Arthur’s wedding reception.  I’m assuming this looked similar to how the ceiling was decorated with paper garlands at Christmas.

Arthur Iverson and Ingrid Gilberg

on their Wedding Day

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012