Sunday, December 23, 2007

Heading Home to Milwaukee

I'm headed out on the early flight tomorrow morning. Should arrive in Milwaukee around 7AM Christmas Eve.

We celebrate Swedish style. The celebration, family get-together, and gift giving take place on Christmas Eve. Someone usually reads from Luke 2, which is one of my favorite memories.

Dinner involves swedish meatballs, rice pudding with lingonberries, korve (a potato sausage), and Dad breaks out the pickled herring. And a few non-Swedish dishes thrown in like ham, casseroles, etc. Every year Dad walks around offering guests the pickled herring, knowing that none of us like it but him. Its his joke that never gets old.

One year, my dear sister Catherine hosted our Christmas Eve celebration and prepared all authentic Swedish dishes, including lutfisk. Lutfisk is a perfectly good whitefish that is "ruined" by chemically burning it (its process of cooking it) and then the preparer washes it/soaks it really good.
It was an extremely enjoyable Christmas Eve and she prepared it right. Its just a Swedish tradition that I don't think will be carried on in the family. But kudos to her for trying and valuing tradition.

Mom and Dad always go to so much work to host our time together. Micah, Richie, and Catherine will be there (they weren't at Thanksgiving) and I'm really excited to see them. Rachel cannot be there. She's been given a Florida vacation for a couple of weeks (can't say I blame her leaving wintery WI for a couple weeks).

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth. Thanks to all those who've sent Christmas letters and photos.

Merry Christmas!!

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