Light has been the theme of December and ironically, it’s one of the best things about this darker season. Christmas trees, glowing paper stars, festive window displays, outdoor lanterns, advent candles and string lights framing windows and balconies. All good things when Stockholm hasn’t seen a single hour of sunlight in almost a month. Daylight hours are a blueish grey light that doesn’t feel like actual light at all. It’s fascinating but I won’t bang on about it now; that’s another post waiting to be written.
^ This photo was taken at the end of November but I’m including it because it documents the last day of sunlight. I would have basked in it for longer if I’d known! The sun almost crept as high as the hoizon today but didn’t break through the cloud. Seeing a low glow in the sky was still nice though.
The Swedish Air Force fly across Sweden in a Christmas tree formation each year. This is the 2020 julgransflygning over Stockholm! Each jet has a light underneath but it’s not visible at this angle. There is a video on the Försvarsmakten site (at the bottom) if you want to see them flying in formation.
Christmas tree sellers are dotted around the city in parks, courtyards and markets. A mini fire pit wins this person some bonus points because I haven’t seen one anywhere else.
The city may be covered in lights but like everywhere this year, it’s lacking a festive buzz. Many restaurants are empty, there are no Christmas markets and people are focused on distancing rather than togetherness. But we will make the best of it and wait for the day things start looking up.
God Jul från Sverige! / Merry Christmas from Sweden! x
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