Wintery weekend in Umeå

This weekend Nikole and I were able to experience some of Umeå's holiday traditions. Saturday, despite the enormous amount of snow, we ventured to a holiday bazaar. It was held at the Waldorf school near my school. The special ed teacher's child goes to this school and she helped organize the bazaar and helped us find our way around. There were lots of little buildings filled with handmade items (or handi krafts), and tons of baked goods. I also had my first taste of glogg, which is similar to mulled wine. It was of course nonalcoholic because we were at a school. The paths between the buildings were lit with candles in the snow. It was very picturesque and the perfect backdrop for a holiday event. Pretty, but cold and super snowy. We stayed for enough time to see everything but did not stay too long because of the cold. Sunday, we went downtown Umeå. The first Sunday after the 25th of November is a big day in Umeå, it marks a month until Christmas (Jul). It used to be that stores would cover their windows with paper and reveal their holiday wares on this weekend, but since everyone starts shopping in October (or earlier) that is no longer the tradition. There were local organizations (Boy Scouts and Lions Club, among others) selling baked goods. Other vendors were selling warm food, glogg and handi krafts. The stores are open longer (from their regular 3pm Sunday closing time) and children and parents were lined up to talk and get pictures with Santa. Again, we stayed long enough to experience, buy some Saint Lucia bread, and enjoy it, but not too long. It was about -15˚F, so it was hard staying outside too long.