What are some Scandinavian Christmas traditions?

Answer 1

Although I grew up in North America, we knew that we were Norwegian (and there was a communities of us...not just Norwegians, but other Scandinavians) and certain traditions were most important around Christmas. Norwegians traditionally open gifts on Christmas eve. It is not uncommon to circle the Christmas tree singing Christmas carols. Christmas morning we wake while it is still dark and go go to church. The church is lit with many candles and again there is singing of Christmas carols. This is followed by a breakfast smorgasbord. We traditionally had things like lefse, fresh baked breads, cheeses, cold cuts or lox, Scandinavian cookies, sometimes little quiches (not sure that the last one is traditional though). There were always many cookies in the house at Christmas time, in fact tradition says that there should be at least seven different types. Christmas Day we traditionally only had the Christmas breakfast and then an early Christmas dinner (late afternoon or early evening). That was plenty of food for that day. Christmas Eve was family time, once Christmas day arrived, the visits started and would continue in the days following Christmas. We would visit friends and neighbours and eat Christmas goodies. Impromptu visits were quite normal at this time of year and everyone was welcome to drop by. Candles were lit in windows to show that all were welcome.

Answer 2

Kissing under the mistletoe.