Advent

For most Swedes, Advent is a busy time of extensive preparations for Christmas: Jul. Own cheese is made, liver pate, cookies, candles and ham. Tons of Christmas gifts are bought that can be brought back to the store on the third day of Christmas. Julklapsbytadagen.

And people visit the Christmas markets and the Christmas concerts that are organized everywhere. Everything lavished with lots of glög, the Swedish spiced wine. 

The Christmas party itself is a kind of orgy with way too much food, way too much alcohol and the traditional Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) videos on television.

All this has absolutely nothing to do with nature. Nature invites to stillness and retreat.

Daylight only lasts for a short time, the sun rises around half past eight, at 10 o’clock it really gets light and then at 2 o’clock it starts to get dark again, after which the sun sets at a quarter past three.

Íf the sun is shining, because it is often foggy at this time of year.

It is actually a wonderful time if you manage to take the rest that nature asks of you without feeling guilty, and do nothing…