I love Christmas! Or Yuletide, rather. Influenced by Northern European folklore, Dickens, and Hollywood movies, it is to me a magical time of the year. Possible because it is the time where we in the Northern hemisphere bring in lights and color into the darkest and coldest part of the year. Everything is glowing and pretty, we eat good food and dress up to match the beautiful decorations around us. Angels and wights surround us, bringing us as closer than ever to fairytale (maybe with the exception of Halloween). Perhaps also because Christmas is a time that we spend with our close ones, it reminds us of what really matters. It is also a time of giving, inviting, and sharing, which I think makes everyone feel good. It’s the ending of the year and a time to recuperate, summarize the past and reevaluate what is important. And then, when the New Year comes a few days after, we can bring all this with us into the next year.

This year, I actually worked most of the holiday. In Sweden we celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day, but my work had a half day on December 24, and so I worked then. But the rest of e holiday was filled with nice gatherings: dinner and brunches with lovely food, and I invited friends over one evening for Swedish glögg (mulled wine) and ginger bread cookies. For some reason, I didn’t want Christmas to end this year. Maybe because it was so cozy? Here is my favorite Christmas decoration this year, at the New York City Library.

I actually met Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington DC when buying my last gifts at Macy’s the day before Christmas Eve. I let him pass me in line!