A Swedish Christmas. Family Culture

The holidays are a time for relaxation and reflection, to crawl into your winter lair, light candles and enjoy cooking all the food you have hoarded to survive the winter. For Swedes, December marks the beginning of endless invitations to Advent gatherings with friends and family. It all starts the first weekend in December with "Advent Sunday" and entails drinking lots of' glögg' and eating saffron cake or saffron buns. I simply love the Christmas feelings these get-togethers give me.

It is not only that I am crazy about saffron buns, but I love the coziness of the lit candles everywhere and the fire place sparkling which contrasts perfectly to the dark winter cold. There is a wonderful, almost childish, anticipation in the air, that there is more to come. The culmination for us Swedes is of course on Christmas Eve, which is the day Santa actually comes to visit.

Swedish Saffron Buns

• 2 1/8 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 (0.6 ounce) cakes compressed fresh yeast
• 8 ounces quark or sour cream
• 2 (.5 gram) packets powdered saffron
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the temperature has reached 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Crumble the yeast into a bowl, then pour in the warm milk. Stir well until the yeast dissolves.
2. Stir in the quark, saffron, sugar, salt, and 7 cups of the flour. Mix the dough in the bowl until it becomes shiny and silky, adding more flour as needed until it begins to come away from the sides of the bowl. Cover, and let rise for 40 minutes.
3. Prepare 2 or 3 baking sheets by covering each with a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface, punch down the dough, then divide into 35 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, 5 to 6 inches long. With the rope lying flat on the work surface, roll each end towards the center, in opposite directions, creating a curled S-shape. Place the buns on the prepared baking sheets, and garnish with raisins if desired. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes while you preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
4. Gently brush each bun with beaten egg, then bake in the oven until puffed and golden, 5 to 10 minutes.

Sweden is a great choir country, so there are Christmas concerts in every other church from the beginning of December until mid January. Beautiful Christmas carols are most important for me in conveying the true Christmas feeling. They express so much of the yearning for peacefulness - a time to pause and reflect on a spiritual level, far away from daily worries.

On December 13 we celebrate the Saint Lucia. Even though Sweden is a Protestant - and secular r- country, celebrating Saint Lucia is a dear tradition to us. In every work place and in every school and day care center there are Lucia processions, consisting of children and sometimes grown-ups, singing Christmas carols dressed up as Lucias, attendants, elfs and gingerbread men. Usually there is only one Lucia, with candle lit crown adorning her head, although in processions with very young children you often see several Lucias, as they all wish to play the Lucia part! After the procession there is Lucia coffee served with saffron cake and ginger biscuits.

The weeks following Lucia everything slows down. It is all a long waiting period for the holidays and filled with anticipation, especially among children. My oldest son Hannes was born on Christmas Eve, so the waiting is almost unbearable to him, with all presents during the year gathered to one occasion! We have decided to celebrate his birthday the day before Christmas Eve so that he gets his own very special day. That is also the day when we carry the Christmas tree into the house, and decorate it with ornaments such as glitter, straw figures, and Swedish flags.

Christmas Eve is the big day in Scandinavia, equivalent to Christmas Day in the US. This is the day when all children get their presents, the holidays start and most important of all - you can start to dig into the traditional Scandinavian Christmas food! At lunch time you eat a big Christmas buffet, filled with sausages, meat balls, potatoes, all sorts of herring, pies, and more exotic food like 'Jansson's temptation' and herring sallad.

It is almost magic with all the dishes to choose from - no wonder the expression smorgasbord originates from the Swedish Christmas buffet. While it is hard to believe on Christmas Eve, you do get tired of it in the long run, since the Christmas food leftovers lasts for at least two weeks!

In the afternoon we sing Christmas carols and we dance. Then the highlight of the day follows when Santa arrives with presents to all. Shortly thereafter rice pudding is served. An almond is put in the pudding and the person who gets the almond is the one who is getting married (or remarried!) the following year. I do not know how to interpret the fact that I always get the almond, since I have been married to the same man for almost seven years!

Christmas Day marks the beginning of a long resting period. This does not mean that the celebrations are over. Most people have another week or two off from work, since they only have to take a few days of vacation between Christmas and New Years and the Christmas tree is not to be thrown out until the weekend three weeks after Christmas. Then "you dance Christmas out" at a so called"Christmas tree plundering," where you strip the tree of all the decorations, throw it out of your home, and have your last Christmas meal.

And then you just wait another three months for the light to return...

By Emilie Eliasson Hovmöller

Holiday Greetings from the Martin Family

Holiday greetings from the Martin Williamson family (Denice Norman, Serenity Clerk, Sara Clerk, Jim Norman, Linda Ames and Bob Ames). We are having rain here in Oroville CA but we need it.

Serenity will catch up with all the news when she gets her studies done at Harvard. My daughter Linda and I flew to Boston and got to visit Serenity and her husband Will. Serenity is very busy but will write all about her time at Harvard later she said.

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays for 2010.

Ruth Martin

Merry Christmas. Brandon and Monica Delgrosso

Happy Holidays to all from the Brandon and Monica Delgrosso family.

The Young Williamson Cousins. Late 1930's. Lead and Deadwood, South Dakota

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
A few pictures tonight taken in the late 1930's to pass around in our virtual family gathering. It's cold outside with a sky taken hostage by temperate winter temperatures forcing it to remain undecided on a light drizzle or a very wet snow.

Pull up a chair and sit close to the fire here in the Fortress' great hall as I pass these photographs around. If we're convincing, we might get Charlie to take a minute from his supper to talk about his memories of those early days in Lead, South Dakota with his cousins, Gail and Woody Williamson.


We start with a simple relationship chart. This shows the children of William Jonathan Williamson and Effie Helen Victor. In today's post we will see Charlie, the firstborn son of Charles and Elda, and Gail and Woody, the first two children born to Walt and Francis Williamson.


This is Charles Ray Williamson (Charlie). His middle name Ray comes from his Uncle Raymond Vercellino (his Godfather). Charlie was baptised and raised Catholic. His father Charles Williamson wasn't religious. His mother Elda was a devout Catholic. She said the Rosary every night.

Charlie is standing on his front porch in Lead. The street in front of the house was Highway 85. He's not sure about the dog. Could have been their dog but he doesn't remember. Charles remembers all the Italians in Lead called him 'Sonny'. Their home was in Lead's Little Italy.

This is Gail and Woody Williamson taken in front of the home of Charles and Elda. Gail and Woody were the first two children of Charlie's Uncle Walt and Aunt Francis Williamson. The picture was taken in 1939. Gail is one month younger than Charlie. Walt and Francis lived in Deadwood at the time. In 1939 Walt drove a deliver truck for Paxton Galigher. Deadwood was the main hub for trains bringing merchandise and groceries to the Black Hills. The merchandise was unloaded into large warehouses in Deadwood and Lead and delivered to stores throughout the Hills. It wasn't until the early 1950's that Walt and Francis bought the grocery store in Deadwood.

Without television and all the other distractions of today's modern lifestyle, families did a lot together back then. Walt, Charles and their brother Morris were avid fishermen and got together once or twice a week to fish Spearfish Creek in the Spearfish Canyon. Robieux Lake was another of their fishing haunts. Charles Sr. and his brother Walt were close and the families picnicked together often, sometimes at the spur of the moment.

Gail Williamson, Walt and Francis' first born, about 1938. The picture was taken in Deadwood.

Gail Williamson with Charlie taken in 1939 in Lead. Charlies' cat "Fuzz" is in the picture.

Another picture taken that same day of Gail and her younger brother Woody. Charlie is present as well in his very short shorts :) He was quite the scrawny kid back then and now, over 70 years later, is still just as scrawny.


Charles with thumb in mouth standing next to Gail. This picture was taken at Charlie's home in Lead, South Dakota. The big home in the background belonged to the Hoffman's. Charlie is wearing a pair of white cowboy boots.

"Everyone dressed like a cowboy in those days," Charles says in his defense.

Well, it is past 9:00 P.M. and the eyes are drooping. It's been a long day and I think I take in a bit of television before turning in for the night.

Simply,
Victor

The Christmas Card Reunion of 2010. Happy Holidays from the Tolleys

The Tolley Family
L to R: Claire held by Brady, Kai, Nicole, and Alivia

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Thanks Nicole for being the first to join An American Dynasty's Christmas Card Reunion for 2010! And her gift, a CD copy of the family history, mailed to her home. Your copy is waiting, free of charge. Just join the reunion.

How is Nicole and her family related to you?
Look Below...... (Click to Enlarge)

Join the 2010 Christmas Card Reunion and Share the Holidays with Family.

If you are related to anyone you see on the top line of the Reunion Relation Chart above, then get your free copy of this family history by sending your Christmas family photo and optional greeting (as in a short letter telling us what your family has been up to this last year) by email (ussvoyager@aol.com) or through the mail;

The Fortress of Solitude
1207 N. 730 E.
Pleasant Grove, UT
84062

Happy Holidays Williamsons, Mattsons, Vercellinos, Pierces, Dennises, Phlegars, Trouts, Fiddlers, Willises, Goodykoontzs, McCrillises, Tornbergs, Carlsdotters, Johansdotters, Georges, Crippens, etc. etc.............

Simply,
Victor

Our Great Great Great Grandparents, Henry and Francis Fiddler and the First Fiddlers in America.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
We are Fiddlers through Grandmother Violet's Grandmother Eldora Elizabeth Fiddler, wife of Edwin Sherman Pierce. The Relationship Chart is below (Click to Enlarge):

Today we get to see the faces of our GGG Grandparents for the first time thanks to Angie and our newly found Pierce cousins.

GGG Grandfather Henry Fiddler

GGG Grandmother Francis George

Together. Possibly the last picture taken of them.

For more information on the lives of Henry and Francis Fiddler please go to this earlier post in the blog.
http://atropesend.blogspot.com/2010/02/henry-fiddler-and-francis-george-our.html

GG Grandmother Eldora Fiddler

Here are a few photographs of our GG Grandmother Eldora (Dora)

Our Great Great Grandmother Eldora Fiddler (Wedding Picture)

Eldora Fiddler Pierce just before her death.
Remember this is Grandma Violet's Grandmother

The Fiddlers in America

The first Fidler (Fiedler) in our family line to cross the Atlantic was Johann Gottfried Fidler (Fiedler). He was born in 1689 in the Palantine, Germany. He arrived in America (via England) in 1710. His family was one of the 33 families who rafted down the Susquehanna River, then up the Tupehocken Creek to settle in Berks County (Pa) in 1723. He died in 1749 and is buried at St. Daniel's Church, ("The Corner Church"), Robesonia, Pa. He married Anna Elisabeth Salomon. They had 8 children - 5 sons and 3 daughters.

Simply,
Victor

To Honor Our German Lutheran Ancestors

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Today, one of the finest examples of classic music for orchestra and choir telling the story of Christ. It comes from Bach's St. Matthew Passion. The piece is sung in Bach's native German and enjoyed by millions around the world.

A fine example of our German Lutheran heritage written by the greatest Lutheran composer of all time.

Simply,
Victor

The Family Christmas Card Reunion

Example Card. This family is not related to us.

They appear too normal and happy :)

From the Fortess of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Everyone,

The Family History Blog is approaching its first Christmas (I started it after the New Year last January). I'd like to start a yearly tradition that needs YOUR support. Our family's are spread far apart and our full reunions are rare indeed. Christmas seems to be the perfect time for everyone to touch base with the extended family at least once a year. I'd like to do that by asking every family that sends out a family Christmas photo to send one to me for the blog. Please included the names of everyone in the family and a short relationship chart showing how your family is related to our common grandparents (I can figure it out easily if you tell me who your grandparents were / are).

Now this is what I'm talking about. This family is not related either (an example card) but at least they appear more 'normal' according to our family definition of what 'normal' is. :)

I'd like to have Christmas family photos from all the descendants of George Matthew Williamson and Margaret Willis on the Williamson side and all the descendants of John Albert Mattson and Ida Tornberg and their siblings descendants. I'd also like to welcome cards from Grandma Violet's Pierce relations.

Its as easy as addressing one of your family photos and yearly letters (if you do one of those telling everyone what your family has been doing for the past year) and mailing it to me at the Fortress:

Victor Williamson
1207 N. 730 E.
Pleasant Grove, UT
84062

Of course, if your card is digital and can be emailed that would be better. My email address is:
ussvoyager@aol.com

Please spread the word about this project to your siblings, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. Many are not regular readers of the blog. I'm hoping our "Christmas Card Reunion" will be successful. It can be with your support.


Simply,
Victor

A School Named Williamson

From the Fortess of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Williamsons!
That's right. Sir Joseph Williamson founded a school that still exists today! It's called the Sir Joseph Williamson Mathematical School, located in England. The school has 1100 students (an all boys school except the sixth form). The school's web site can be found here: http://www.sirjosephwilliamson.medway.sch.uk


Sir Joseph Williamson died on October 3, 1701. In his will he left 5000 British Pounds (an enormous sum of money in those days) to found the school.


Simply,
Victor

Sir Joseph Williamson

Sir Joseph Williamson

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Williamsons,
Tonight we meet the most famous Williamson in our direct Williamson family line. Of course, if you are a regular reader of the blog, you'll understand that this line cannot be absolutely proven (at the moment), but all lines of evidence point me down this road to Sir Joseph Williamson.

Here are the two sticking points on this Williamson.
1. The link between Matthew Williamson, George Matthew Williamson's father, and Cuthbert Williamson (see Relationship Chart below). I'm 90% sure they are father and son.
2. The relationship between John Williamson and Sir Joseph Williamson. Most feel that he is either his illegitimate son or a nephew.

Until I can prove otherwise (or someone out there can prove me wrong), I'm claiming this is our line and we are linked directly to Sir Joseph. So, tonight I'd like to introduce this, our most famous relative, to you.

I begin with the relationship chart.

(Correction to the Chart. Cuthbert Williamson Sr. died before 1751 not 1786 as mentioned in the chart above. By 1751 Elizabeth Allen had remarried Samuel Allen. Her maiden name appears to have been Curd. Thank you to an anonymous reader for pointing this out)

And now. A short Biography of Sir Joseph Williamson from Wikipedia

Simply,
Victor

Sir Joseph Williamson, (25 July 1633 – 3 October 1701) was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699.
Williamson was born at Bridekirk near Cockermouth , where his father, also called Joseph, was vicar. He was educated at St Bees School, Westminister School, and Queens College, Oxford, of which he became a fellow. In 1660 he entered the service of the Secretary of State, Sir edward Nicholas. He was involved with the foundation of the London Gazette in 1665.

Williamson was elected a Member of Parliament for Thetford in 1669 and held the seat until 1685. In 1672 he was made a knight. In 1673 and 1674 he represented his country at the Congress of Cologne, and in the latter year he became Secretary of State, having practically purchased this position from Arlington for £6,000, a sum that he required from his successor when he left office in 1679. In 1677 he became the third President of the Royal Society, but his main interests, after politics, were in antiquarian rather than in scientific matters.

Just before his removal from the post of Secretary of State, he was arrested on a charge of being implicated in the popish plots, but he was at once released by order of Charles II. Charles however dismissed him after he gave orders to search Somerset House, the Queen's official residence, without the King's permission; the King remarked coldly " I do not wish to be served by a man who fears anyone more than me". After a period of comparative inactivity Sir Joseph represented England at the congress of Nijmegen, and in 1678 he signed the first treaty for the partition of the Spanish Monarchy.

In 1690 Williamson was elected Member of Parliament for Rochestor and held the seat until 1701. He was also elected MP for Thetford in three separate elections, but each time chose to sit for Rochester instead.
Between 1692 and 1695, Williamson was also MP in the Irish parliament for Clare. In 1695 he represented Portarlington for few months and subsequently LImerick City until 1699.

Williamson died at Cobham Hall, Kent, on 3 October 1701. He had become very rich by taking advantage of the many opportunities of making money which his official position gave him. He left £6,000 and his library to Queen's College, Oxford; £5,000 to found a school at Rocherter, Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School; and £2,000 to Thetford. A great number of Williamson's letters, dispatches, memorandums, etc, are among the English state papers. He has been described as one of the great English civil servants of his time and credited with building up an intelligence service which rivaled that of John Thurloe under Cromwell.