2 December 2017
My second Christmas market is in Täby Park. It was my first winter in Stockholm, so I planned to visit as many Christmas markets as possible every weekend. This place is quite a distance from where I live. I had to take the train and the bus. The journey took me close to 1.5 hours. It was still bright when I got here which is really good because I could see more of the stuff. My first Christmas market was in Rosendal and it was dark during my first experience.
By the way, I went here because a pensioner mentioned that this is one of the authentic Christmas markets in Stockholm.
There was a horse ride, a property exhibition and lots of Christmas decorations, lots of Christmas ham (they called it 'julskinka' - pronounced as 'yul-hwin-ka') both smoked meat and fish for sale. It was interesting to see all these in a Christmas market.
The Swedes believes in Tomte and there are lots of them decorating the window sills of each home.
A tomte is a mythological creature from Nordic folklore today typically associated with the winter solstice and the Christmas season. It is generally described as being no taller than 90 cm (35 in), having a long white beard, and wearing a conical or knit cap in red or some other bright colour. They often have an appearance somewhat similar to that of a garden gnome (which are also called trädgårdstomte in Swedish).
The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of Scandinavian folklore, and he has appeared in many works of Scandinavian literature. In the English editions of the fairy tales of H. C. Andersen the word nisse has been inaccurately translated as goblin (a more accurate translation is brownie or hob).
The tradition of nisse/tomte is also associated with Christmas The tomte is accompanied by another mythological creature: the Yule goat (Julbocken). The pair appear on Christmas Eve, knocking on the doors of people's homes, handing out presents. The nisse will deliver gifts at the door, in accordance with the modern-day tradition of the visiting Santa Claus, enters homes to hand out presents. The tomte/nisse is also commonly seen with a pig, another popular Christmas symbol in Scandinavia, probably related to fertility and their role as guardians of the farmstead. It is customary to leave behind a bowl of porridge with butter for the tomte/nisse, in gratitude for the services rendered. Source from Wikipedia.
You can see a Yule goat in the below picture.
The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. Its origin may be Germanic pagan and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typically made of straw. Source from Wikipedia.
This is a Swedish Advent Candle Holder. Well, an electrical candle holder, that is.
On the first Sunday of Advent – four weeks before Christmas – people light the first candle in the Advent candlestick. Each Sunday until Christmas, a candle is lit (and blown out after a while), until all four candles are alight. Most houses have a similar candle holder. But the below candle holder has 6 candles. Probably they start lighting 1.5 month before Christmas.
Indoor Christmas Market. Warmer here.
These are the smoked meat sold outdoors.
Julskinka is Christmas ham. Now, it is not your usual kind of pork.
Julskinka (Christmas ham) is the centrepiece of a Swedish julbord (Christmas buffet). It is always served cold in Sweden. Swedes normally boil their julskinka and then finish it off in the oven with a mustard and breadcrumb crust/glaze. Once the glaze is cooked the ham is moved to somwhere cold, usually outside, to cool as quickly as possible. The idea is that this will trap the juices in to ensure that the ham remains moist and tasty.
Sometimes the liquid used to cook the ham is reduced to make 'dopp i grytan', literally dip in the pot. The resulting sauce is quite salty and something of an acquired taste, but it is regarded with considerable affection by some Swedes who enjoying dipping bread in it. Source from Swedish Food.
My partner got me sheep-fur shoes to be worn at home because I cannot stand the cold. The prices differ according to the sizes as you need more sheep fur as the size increases. Mine costed SEK379/RM189.50. Yup, that is one expensive sheep shoe. As the winter progresses, I wore them together with wool socks.
This is yummy. Roasted almonds. 1 paper bag for SEK30. It is roasted with lots of sugar. This was the cheapest roasted almonds among all the 5 Christmas markets I went. It smelt so good when I walked past them and my partner decided to get me a packet. Roasted almonds are found in touristy areas within Stockholm too. I recall seeing a booth along the sidewalk to Kungsträdgården. Well, I won't want to eat it during the summer. It's heaty.
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