Standing Rib Roast and Prime Rib: Recipes and Cooking Times

As turkey is to Thanksgiving, the beef rib roast is to Christmas–a giant piece of meat that you only cook once a year. As such, it’s easy to forget one year to the next how you did it. So you might be wondering about cooking times. Don’t worry, the Family Kitchen has got you covered.

The first thing to figure out is how well done your family is going to want it. The times below are mainly for medium rare which will give you a very juicy roast. If you want something more along the lines of medium, add 15 degrees to the internal temperature you are aiming for and leave it in a little longer, check every ten minutes or so after you’ve reached the max medium rare time. Remember, the meat will continue to cook a little while it’s resting, so it’s better to err on the side of a little lower temperature.

So, without further ado, here are those roasting times 

Bone-in Beef Rib Roast (4-8 lbs)- Oven temperature 325 degrees

Medium Rare (Internal temperature- 145 degrees)- 23-30 minutes per pound

Medium (Internal temperature- 160 degrees)- 27-38 minutes per pound

Boneless Beef Rib Roast (about 4 lbs)- Oven temperature 325 degrees

Medium Rare (Internal temperature- 140 degrees)- 39-43 min per lb.

Eye Round Beef Rib Roast (2-3 lbs.)- Oven temperature 325 degrees

Medium Rare (Internal temperature- 145 degrees)- 20-22 min. per lb.

Whole Beef Tenderloin (4-6 lbs.)- Oven temperature 425 degrees

Medium Rare- (Internal temperature- 145 degrees)- 45-60 minutes total

Half Beef Tenderloin (2-3 lbs.)- Oven temperature 425 degrees

Medium Rare- Internal temperature- 145 degrees)- 35-45 minutes total

Christmas Eve Quotes: Christmas Sayings From Christmas Songs

Looking for some great Christmas Eve quotes to share with your family tonight? Some of the best Christmas sayings and Christmas quotes come from Christmas songs.

From people giving each other Christmas greetings, to Christmas messages and phrases that are used in Christmas cards, sharing Christmas quotes from beloved Christmas carols seems to be a time-honored tradition.

Here are some of our favorite Christmas Eve quotes from Christmas songs:

“I’ll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me. Please have snow, and mistletoe, and presents on the tree.” – I’ll Be Home For Christmas

“Fall on your knees. Oh hear the angel voices. Oh night divine, oh night, when Christ was born.” – O Holy Night

“Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, but as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” – Let It Snow

“O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come ye o come ye in Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the king of angels. O come let us adore him!” – O Come All Ye Faithful

“Chestnuts roasing on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos.” – The Christmas Song

“Angels we have heard on high. Sweetly singing o’er the plains. And the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains.” – Angels We Have Heard On High

“Hark the Herald Angels sing, glory to the new born King! Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!” – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Where the tree tops glisten, and children listen, to hear sleigh bells in the snow.” – White Christmas

“It came upon a midnight clear, that glorious song of old. With angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.” - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

“Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Radiant beams from thy holy face. With the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord at thy birth.” – Silent Night

Tags: Jesus, birth, Mary

(source:babble.com)

Saints Day

A medieval manuscript fragment of Finnish origin, about 1340–60.
 Utilized by the Dominican convent at Turku.

The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint. The system arose from the very early Christian custom of annual commemoration of martyrs on the dates of their deaths, or birth into heaven, and is thus referred to in Latin as dies natalis ("day of birth").

History

As the number of recognized saints increased during Late Antiquity and the first half of the Middle Ages, eventually every day of the year had at least one saint who was commemorated on that date. To deal with this increase, some saints were moved to alternate days in some traditions or completely removed, with the result that some saints have more than one feast day. The General Roman Calendar, in its various forms, contains only a selection of the saints for each of its days.

The earliest feast days of saints were those of martyrs, venerated as having shown for Christ the greatest form of love, in accordance with the teaching: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Saint Martin of Tours is said to be the first or at least one of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint. The title "confessor" was used for such saints, who had confessed their faith in Christ by their lives rather than by their deaths. Martyrs are regarded as dying in the service of the Lord, and confessors are people who died natural deaths. A broader range of titles was used later, such as: Virgin, Pastor, Bishop, Monk, Priest, Founder, Abbot, Apostle, Doctor of the Church.

The Tridentine Missal has common formulas for Masses of Martyrs, Confessors who were bishops, Doctors of the Church, Confessors who were not Bishops, Abbots, Virgins, Non-Virgins, Dedication of Churches, and Feast Days of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII added a common formula for Popes. The 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII omitted the common of Apostles, assigning a proper Mass to every feast day of an Apostle. The present Roman Missal has common formulas for the Dedication of Churches, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Martyrs (with special formulas for missionary martyrs and virgin martyrs), Pastors (subdivided into bishops, generic pastors, founders of churches, and missionaries), Doctors of the Church, Virgins, and (generic) Saints (with special formulas for abbots, monks, nuns, religious, those noted for works of mercy, educators, and [generically] women saints).

This calendar system, when combined with major church festivals and movable and immovable feasts, constructs a very human and personalised yet often localized way of organizing the year and identifying dates. Some Christians continue the tradition of dating by saints' days: their works may appear "dated" as "The Feast of Saint Martin". Poets such as John Keats commemorate the importance of The Eve of Saint Agnes.

As different denominations of Christianity developed, differing lists of saints began as the same individual may be considered (as an extreme) a saint or doctor by one denomination and a heretic by another, as in the case of Nestorius.

As the ecumenical movement has sought to converge each denominational lectionary into a unified Revised Common Lectionary, Dr. Philip Pfatteicher sought to unify different saints calendars (among Protestants) by authoring the New Book of Festivals and Commemorations: A Proposed Common Calendar of Saints, August 1, 2008, ISBN 080062128X.

Ranking of feast days

Feast days are ranked in accordance with their importance.

In what is now the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, feast days are ranked (in descending order of importance) as solemnities, feasts or memorials (obligatory or optional). The 1962 version, whose use is authorized by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, divides liturgical days into I, II, III, and IV class days, as decreed by Pope John XXIII in 1960. Those who use even earlier forms of the Roman Rite rank feast days as Doubles (of three or four kinds), Semidoubles, and Simples. See Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church the ranking of feasts varies from church to church. In the Russian Orthodox Church they are: Great Feasts, All-Night Vigils, Polyeleos, Great Doxology, Sextupple (having six stichera at Vespers and six troparia at the Canon of Matins), Double (i.e., two simple feasts celebrated together) and Simple.

In the Church of England, there are Principal Feasts and Principal Holy Days, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, and Commemorations.

(source:wikipedia)

Joulupukki

Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name Joulupukki literally means Yule Goat. The Finnish word "pukki" comes from the Swedish "bock" (equivalent of the English "buck" or "billy-goat") and is an old Scandinavian tradition. Over time, the figure became more or less merged with Santa Claus.

There is a long Finnish tradition of persons dressing in goat costume to solicit or perform for leftover food after Christmas. Historically, such a person was an older man, and the tradition refers to him as a nuuttipukki. The term now also describes the practice, reportedly continuing in some parts of Finland.

Today Joulupukki looks and behaves mostly like his American version, but there are differences. Joulupukki's house and workshop are situated in the mountains of Korvatunturi, whereas the American counterpart resides at the North Pole. Another difference is that instead of sneaking in through the chimney during the late night hours, Joulupukki knocks on the front door during the Christmas Eve celebrations. When he comes in, his first words are traditionally "Onkos täällä kilttejä lapsia?" (Are there (any) well-behaved children here?)

He usually wears warm red clothes, uses a walking stick, and travels in a sleigh pulled by a number of reindeer. Unlike the American version, the reindeer do not fly. In Lapland, pulka rather than a sleigh can be encountered. The popular song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in its Finnish translation, Petteri Punakuono, has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in the mythology as Joulupukki's lead reindeer. Joulupukki has a wife, Joulumuori ("Old Lady Christmas"), but tradition doesn't have much to say about her.

Home

Joulupukki lives in Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland.

Joulupukki's assistants are called tonttu, or more precisely joulutonttu (from Swedish tomte); they are not elves, but essentially human, often dwarflike in character. They usually wear similar attire to Joulupukki's, and males also have a white beard; but joulutonttu are often smaller in size and may be of any age and either gender. While only a rather large, aged person can convincingly dress as Joulupukki, conveniently everyone can dress as a joulutonttu, with less special attire required.

Trivia

The location of Joulupukki's workshop comes from a children's radio show called Markus-sedän lastentunti ("Children's hour with Uncle Markus") hosted by Markus Rautio and broadcast by the Finnish Broadcasting Company between years 1927-1956.

Finland's Joulupukki received over 700,000 letters from children all over the world in 2006, according to a news report by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE.

The US-based Coca-Cola Santa Claus was designed by the son of Finnish emigrants, Haddon Sundblom.

Joulupukki is a prominent character in Rare Exports, a movie based on the award winning shorts by Jalmari Helander.

The origins of Joulupukki

One interesting theory about the origins of Joulupukki and his flying reindeer, comes from the aboriginal Saami people of Lapland. In the forests there is a common poisonous mushroom, Amanita muscaria, that is red with white dots. The Saami shamans used to feed this mushroom to the reindeer, whereby the intestinal tract of the reindeer would filter out the poison, but leave the intoxicating substances. The urine of the reindeer would then be collected and used as a hallucinogenic by the shamans. The shamans would often have out-of-the-body experiences and fly in the sky, returning through the chimney hole of their tent or cottage to their bodies. This shamanistic tradition would explain the flying reindeer, the use of chimneys, and even the red-white colouring of Joulupukki.

Joulupukki's dark side

Pagans used to have festivities to ward off evil spirits. In Finland these spirits of darkness wore goat skins and horns. In the beginning this creature didn't give presents but demanded them. The Yule Goat was an ugly creature and frightened children.

It is unclear how this personality was transformed into the benevolent Father Christmas. Nowadays the only remaining feature is the name. The process was probably a continuous amalgamation of many old folk customs and beliefs from varied sources. One can speak of a Christmas pageant tradition consisting of many personages with roles partly Christian, partly pagan: A white-bearded saint, the Devil, demons, house gnomes. Nowadays the Joulupukki of Finland resembles the American Santa Claus.

Popular radio programs from the year 1927 onwards probably had great influence in reformatting the concept with the Santa-like costume, reindeer and Korvatunturi as its dwelling place. Because there really are reindeer in Finland, and Finns live up North, the popular American cult took root in Finland very quickly.

(source:wikipedia)

Jul

Seden med julgran dök upp i Tyskland under1400-talet. Julgranen placeras
 i många hem inom den kristna kultursfären under julhelgen,
 rikligt dekorerad med julgransprydnader och
 pynt. Här iDanmark 2004,

Jul är en högtid i slutet av december som firas till minne av Jesu födelse, tidigast känt från år 336. I dag firas dock julen av många med färre religiösa inslag än tidigare. Den officiella svenska julhögtiden börjar den 24 december (julaftonen, aftonen före juldagen) och avslutas den 13 januari (Tjugondag Knut) då "julen dansas ut", även om det på senare tid blivit allt fler som inleder firandet tidigare[källa behövs] och betraktar det som avslutat i och med den sista lediga dagen 6 januari (trettondagen).

Innehåll [göm]

Etymologi 

Ursprunget till ordet jul är ovisst, en populär föreställning är att det kommer från "hjul", men språkforskare anser det vara en myt. Det äldsta belägget för ordet jul kommer från ett fragment Codex Ambrosianus A av den gotiska kalendern som skrevs någon gång på 500- eller 600-talet e.Kr. Fragmentet beskriver slutet på oktober och början på november. Månaden november är överskriven med "Naubaimbair: fruma Jiuleis" vilket kan tolkas som "November: första julmånaden" eller "November: Månaden före jul". Omkring 730 e.Kr skrev Beda venerabilis att anglosaxernas kalender har månaden "geola" eller "giuli" som kan motsvara december eller december och januari. Den 25 december är första dagen på hedningarnas nya år och anglosaxarna firar hela natten till mödragudarnas ära.

Efter kristendomens införande använde germanerna samma ord för firandet av Jesu födelse som man använt på det hedniska firandet. På 1000-talet i England och 1100-talet i Tyskland började man dock kalla det kristna firandet för "Cristes Mæsse" (Kristi mässa), respektive "wîhe nah" (vigda natten). I de nordiska länderna behöll man ordet "jul".

Genom att jämföra olika språk har man rekonstruerat att det urgermanska ordet var *jehwla eller *jxwla (x uttalas här som tyska "ach"). Ordet lånades tidigt in i finskan vars uttal i jämförelse med de germanska språken förändrats mycket litet de senaste 2000 åren, "juhla" betyder där "högtid". Senare har finnarna lånat in ordet en gång till, "joulu" med betydelsen "jul".

Historia 

Tidigt ursprung 

Den persiska guden Mitras födelsedag 

I antikens Persien dyrkades solguden Mitra vid sidan om högguden Ahura Mazda. Genom kulturella kontakter spreds Mitradyrkan till Romarriket där gudsgestalten fick namnet Mithras. I dagens Iran firas Mitras födelsedag den 21 december i samband med den iranska midvinterfesten Shab-e Yalda. I samband med kristendomens spridning i Rom kan persiska traditioner ha influerat tidsbestämmelsen för firandet av Jesus födelse.

Saturnaliefesten 

I antikens Rom hölls i december en fest till guden Saturnus ära, Saturnaliefesten (lat. Saturnalia). Då bytte slavar och herrar roller, man gav varandra presenter och en uppsluppen stämning rådde.

Sol Invictus 

Kristus som Sol Invictus.

Sol Invictus, latin "Den obesegrade solen", var en romersk religion, tillägnad solguden Elagabalus Sol Invictus (jämför gudomen Baal). Romarna höll en festival den 25 december som de kallade Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "den obesegrade solens födelsedag". På 300-talet byttes högtiden ut mot firandet av Jesu födelse och blev således en kristen högtid, julen.

Den fornnordiska julen

Julblot, jólablót eller midvinterblot, julofferfest, är en högtid i fornnordisk religion. Den exakta tidpunkten för blotet är omstritt. En del menar att det hölls vid vintersolståndet i slutet på december, medan andra menar att det var i mitten av januari. Det senare datumet kommer av att midvintern ansågs infalla 14 januari. Jul (fornnordiska jol) är benämning på den nordiska förkristna midvinterfesten julblot, fornnordiska jólablót eller "midvinterblot". Julblot eller midvinterblot firades vid midvintern då dagarna är som kortast och nätterna som längst, det vill säga kring vintersolståndet. Man tror att firandet av denna dag var en dyrkan av denna egenskap hos dygnet, då det tolkades som ett återuppvaknande av naturen. Julens speciella gud var Jólner, som är ett av Odens många namn.

Begreppet jul förekommer i ett hyllningskväde till Harald Hårfager från omkring år 900, där någon sägs "dricka jul". Vid julblotet, den högtidligaste offerfesten, gjorde man offer, blot, för att få gudarnas välsignelse över den kommande grödan. Julblotet integrerades i den kristna julen.

Kristen anpassning 

Midvinterblot målning av Carl Larsson iNationalmuseets trapphall, mars 2008

Jesu födelse, målning av den nederländske konstnären Gerrit van Honthorst (1590/1592 – 1596).

Jul kallas på nordiska språk samt finska och estniska även den högtid som kristna firar den 25 december till minne av Jesu födelse den 25 december (ett datum som saknar grund i evangelierna, men som valdes av romarna på 300-talet, i samband med kampen mot hedendomen).

Årstiden för Jesu födelse anges inte i evangelierna, men Lukasevangeliet indikerar att årstiden var månaderna då herdarna var ute och vaktade får. Det gjordes under sommarmånaderna, vädret blev kyligare i slutet av oktober och början på november. Men den exakta tidpunkten för Jesu födelse är inte känd.

Liberius fastställde datum för juldagen till den 25 december år 354. Enligt en gammal tolkning av 1 Mos. skapades världen vid vårdagjämningen. Den 25 mars betraktades alltså som Marie bebådelsedag och Kristi födelse beräknades till nio månader därefter, 25 december. Firandet av Jesu födelse ersatte företrädesvis det romerska firandet av solguden som hölls vid midvintern, men även andra hedniska folk i västerländerna firade redan sina egna typer av högtider vid midvinter. Övergången från de gamla folkens traditioner och seder till kristendomen underlättades genom att midvinter redan var en högtid. Ljusets återvändande till jorden efter midvinter har fått symbolisera det andliga tecknet för Jesu födelse. Vintersolståndet infaller nuförtiden något tidigare på grund av ändringar i kalendern.

Den västkristna kyrkan var först med att införa juldagen den 25 december och samtliga länder i väst har denna högtidsdag. Inom den östkristna kyrkan har trettondedag jul, epifania, ofta en starkare ställning än julen. Denna dag firas där till minne av Jesu dop eller hans födelse. Eftersom den kristna julens första helgdag är den 25 december, inleds helgen klockan 18 kvällen innan, därav namnet julafton.

Jultraditioner

Julgran 

Traditionellt julfirande i USA, foto från 1897.

Julgranen är en tradition som tog sin början i Tyskland på 1500-talet. På 1600- och 1700-talet fick granen ljus. När granen kläs är olika i olika länder. Exempelvis sker detta i England i början av december. Att klä granen innebär att man dekorerar den. Dekorationerna varierar från plats till plats och färgas ofta också av familjens egen tradition. I de flesta granar sätts dock ljus, förr stearinljus, numera vanligen elektriska. Färgade glas- eller plastkulor är vanliga.

Julmusik 

I juletider är musik och sång starkt inriktade på jultema. Julskivor spelas in av såväl barnkörer, kyrkokörer och skolkörer som artister och grupper inom pop, rock och dansband.

Nationella traditioner 

Sverige 

 Jul i Sverige

Mat vid julbordet. Olika sorters sill.

En tomtenisse.

Ris à la Malta är en efterrätt som ofta äts på juldagen, lagad på resterna av risgrynsgröten.

Julfirandet i Sverige har inslag från hedniska, kristna, nordiska och germanska traditioner från vikingatiden och framåt. I och med Sveriges kristnande kring mitten av 1100-talet började de kristna och hedniska traditionerna blandas. De flesta nutida traditionerna härstammar från 1800-talet och 1900-talet.

I Sverige pågår den kristna julen från julaftons kväll, 24 december, till Tjugondedag Knut den 13 januari. ("Tjugonde dag Knut dansas julen ut".) Enligt kristen synvinkel är den viktigaste tiden den fram till trettondagen, 6 januari, men julen pågår enligt kyrkoåret egentligen till och med Kyndelsmässodagen, 2 februari, ursprungligen, men Svenska Kyrkan har flyttat det till närmast liggande söndag.

I det sekulära svenska samhället firas jul under hela adventstiden med julafton som höjdpunkt och anses av många[källa behövs] avslutad efter mellandagsrean, som vanligtvis tar slut någon gång i januari. I det svenska julfirandet ingår en mängd företeelser. Kring mitten av 1700-talet dök de första klädda granarna upp i Sverige. På 1800-talet blev det allt vanligare med julgran i de borgerliga hemmen och man började importera tyska julgransprydnader. Idag kläs granen oftast dagarna före julafton. I Ersta diakonianstalt i Stockholm började man 1870 att varje söndag i advent tända sju ljus i en gran. 1920-1930 ersattes adventsgranen med adventsljusstaken som har fyra ljus. Denna svenska tradition har sedan spridit sig runt om i världen främst genom möbelföretaget IKEA. Julen är förknippad med Lucia, julklappar, pepparkaksbak och julmat, och man brukar städa, stöpa ljus, stoppa korv, koka knäck och annat julgodis, ta fram julprydnader och klä en gran. På senare år har man i Sverige infört traditionen från katolska länder att fira midnattsmässa under natten mellan julafton och juldagen.

Julklappar började delas ut på 1600-talet. Traditionen bjöd att givaren smög fram till mottagarens dörr som man ljudligt klappade på, slängde in gåvan genom dörren för att sedan springa därifrån - vilket är ursprunget till ordet "julklapp". På 1700-talet började man rimma till paketen vilket är en tradition hämtad från antikens Rom. Under 1700-talet utbredde sig traditionen att det var julbocken som delade ut klapparna. Julbocken var helgonet Sankt Nikolaus följeslagare. Firandet av S:t Nikolaus hade försvunnit i samband med reformationen men julbocken levde vidare som julsymbol. Under 1800-talet blev pepparkakor och glögg en del av den svenska jultraditionen och färgen röd blev viktig. Kring slutet av 1800-talet började Jenny Nyström ge ut kort med en ny typ av tomtar och svenskarna började skicka julkort. Kring mitten av 1900-talet började speciella julfrimärken att ges ut. Vid slutet av 1800-talet påbörjades också den sammanblandning av S:t Nikolaus, julbocken och den svenska gårdstomten som kom att bli jultomten vilken tog över julklappsutdelningen.

Under 1900-talet har först radio och sedan TV fått en betydande roll för julfirandet. 1932 lanserades den första adventskalendern i papp och samma år lanserades den första elektriska adventsljusstaken. 1960 sändes Kalle Anka och hans vänner för första gången på julafton vilket sedan blivit en tradition klockan 15 varje julafton. Samma år slog julstjärnan igenom som julblomma. Senare har även Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton blivit en tradition på TV. 1961 sändes den första julkalendern på TV och det förekommer även en i radion.

Andra traditioner är julskyltningen som, nuförtiden, startar redan i november, annonskampanjer, julmusik, julmat med bland annat julskinka, julbord, lussekatter, julmust och julöl, jultidningar och julstädning.

Jul är i Sverige en familjehögtid. Julen har som en följd av det blivit en pina för somliga människor som är ensamstående eller marginaliserade. I mindre orter är de flesta restaurangerna stängda under julhelgen, även på julafton, trots att det inte är en röd dag. Julen är också en tid då många människor ägnar sig åt välgörenhet . Flera ideella organisationer engagerar sig extra under julen och erbjuder ensamma, hemlösa och socialt utslagna lite julstämning genom att anordna julbord med skänkta livsmedel, kanske åtföljt av lite underhållning.

Dagarna runt jul

Tiden från och med den fjärde söndagen före jul till och med julafton ingår i advent, där söndagarna är markerade som första, andra, tredje och fjärde söndagen i advent.

13 december Lucia

21 december vintersolståndet

(23 december Dan' före dopparedan', lilla julafton, lokal företeelse, ej officiell)

24 december julafton, kallas ibland dopparedagen

25 december juldagen (helgdag)

26 december annandag jul/annandagen (helgdag)

28 december Värnlösa barns dag

6 januari trettondedag jul/trettondagen även kallad epifania (helgdag till minne av de tre vise männen och inom ortodoxa kyrkan även Jesu dop)

13 januari tjugondag Knut (kastas julen ut)

2 februari Kyndelsmässodagen (julen tar slut i kyrkoåret)

I Sverige fanns förr fler helgdagar omkring jul. Tredjedag och fjärdedag jul avskaffades genom förordning 4 november 1772.

Finland 

I Finland firas allmänt lilla jul lördagen före första advent. Dagen har dock ingen officiell status. En viktig tradition i Finland är att julfreden utlyses. Denna tradition kan med säkerhet spåras ända tillbaka till 1300-talet då återkommande perioder av fred utlysta av den katolska kyrkan var en tradition vitt spridd över västeuropa (Treuga Dei) men som bland de sekulära och protestantiska staterna idag bara lever kvar i Finland som en stark tradition. Enligt traditionen började julfreden på Tomasdagen och varade till Tjugondag Knut, brott som begicks under denna tid straffades med dubbelt straff. Idag förkunnas julfreden på julafton då domkyrkans klocka slagit tolv, av stadssekreteraren på balkongen i Brinkala hus vid Gamla Stortorget i Åbo. Texten som läses upp är bevarad som en muntlig tradition från 1600-talet och läses både på finska och svenska.

Kina 

I Kina firas julen främst av de kristna. På senare år har även kineser som är sekulära eller tillhör en annan trosuppfattning än kristendomen börjat uppmärksamma julen, detta gäller framförallt ungdomar och människor i yngre medelåldern bosatta i de stora städerna längs kusten. Julen har blivit en "modern" och "internationell" helg för de unga som de kan skapa egna nya traditioner kring.

Julfirandets genombrott stöter dock på hinder, mest genom konkurrensen från det kinesiska nyåret (infaller i slutet av januari eller början av februari), som är den högtid som mest liknar den västerländska julen, dels genom pyntningen, dels genom att man då har ledigt och familjerna samlas igen.

Liknande festligheter 

Julfirande eller liknande fanns redan bland flera äldre folk. Några sådana fester är judarnas "chanukka" (tempelinvigningsfest), grekernas "chronia" och romarnas saturnalia. Nutidens firande baseras på kombinationer av dessa festligheter. Till exempel härrör traditionen att ge julklappar från romarnas saturnalia och att tända ljus från nordbornas julblot, såväl som den judiska chanukka. Den sistnämnda högtiden är förmodligen upphovet till den nutida skandinaviska traditionen att placera ljusstakar med en rad av ljus (sju, eller flera) i fönstret under december.

Jehovas vittnen tar avstånd från allt julfirande på grund av dess hedniska ursprung.

(Källa:wikipedia)

Swedish festivities

The student cap once belonged to a privileged class.
 Today it is worn by most Swedes at the end of
 secondary school.

Life of Swedish people

Over 70% of Swedes belong to the Lutheran Church of Sweden, but seldom go to church. Attendance is a bit higher among members of free churches such as Pentecostalists and the Salvation Army. Christenings, weddings and funerals are usually made in church, although civil weddings are generally accepted - especially for subsequent marriages. Around half of Swedes are confirmed, usually at the age of fifteen. Other celebrations are studenten ("the student", originally studentexamen, "the student's degree") - the graduation from secondary school, and decennial birthdays.

The week in Sweden

Saturday is associated with candy,

Swedish weeks begin on Mondays. Most Swedes keep track of week numbers for long-term planning.

Sweden is one of the few countries in the world where most retail stores, at least in cities, are open all week. Laws regulating activities on Sundays were abolished during the late 20th century.

A dish which for most Swedes is seen as typical, though the tradition of it is rarely followed, for Thursdays is pea soup followed by pancakes with jam as dessert.

Most Swedish children are allowed to eat sweets only on Saturdays - lördagsgodis. This tradition is intended to prevent dental caries, but its history contains questionable medical ethics - it is the result of the Vipeholm experiments, in which mentally challenged patients were forced to be test subjects of painful experiments in dental health.

Swedish alcohol habits vary greatly during the week - Swedes expect each other to be completely sober during work hours (even one beer for lunch is taboo), but many people drink heavily during weekends. See also alcohol in Sweden.

Sweden, especially Norrland, can have extreme seasonal differences. This has affected the festivities, as many of them commemorate the turn of seasons. Many holiday celebrations take place on the eve - the day before the holiday proper (for instance Walpurgis night and Christmas Eve).

New Year celebration

New Year is celebrated with fireworks, starting at 00.00 on New Year's Day, and sparkling wine and lots of snacks, usually after a shellfish dinner late on New Year's Eve.

In recent years, many people start the fireworks already on New Year's Eve or even many days before. This has led to much debate, since it is not only in violation of the tradition but many people also find it disturbing or even frightening to have fireworks go off for days instead of only in the half hour or so after midnight on New Year's night.

On New Year's Eve, Sveriges Television (SVT) shows the classical comedy sketch Dinner for One, Grevinnan och Betjänten. There are also often special shows commemorating the ending of the TV year, showing highlights from the year. TV also broadcast popular movies on this night. At midnight, SVT shows the celebration on Skansen in Stockholm, where a prominent actor reads Edvard Fredin's translation of Alfred Tennyson's Ring Out, Wild Bells On New Year's Day. SVT also used to show the British half-hour comedy The Plank and the ski jumping contest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but they have been withdrawn. On New Year's Day, SVT shows The New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The film Ivanhoe was broadcasted by SVT on New Year's Day earlier, but the commercial channel TV3 has taken over the tradition.

Winter

A semla, eaten from Fat Tuesday until Easter,

Valentine's Day, Alla hjärtans dag, "All Hearts' Day", is recognized by merchants, but not taken very seriously.

Schools have a one-week break during February called sportlov ("sports break"). This break originated in the coke rationing of World War II, but today it is more of an incentive for exercise through winter sports. The break occurs between week 7 and 10 depending on county, to spread utilization of Swedish ski resorts.

Swedes celebrate Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday, Fettisdagen) 41 days before Easter (rather Palm Sunday, since the fasting was forty days, Ash Wednesday to the day before Easter Saturday, Sundays not included). This is celebrated by eating a special pastry called semla. Lent is honoured by a minority of Swedes. The annual première of semla-eating has crept all the way to early January.

Spring

A Walpurgis fire.

A May Day demonstration in Stockholm by the Left Party, 2006.

On the 25th of March on the Christian holiday of Annunciation the Swedes eat waffles, as the day is called the "Waffle Day". This is in fact due to a misunderstanding of the phrase "vårfrudagen" which means "Our Lady's day", which sounds like "våffeldagen", meaning "waffle day."

Easter (påsk) is celebrated in Sweden. The belief in witches travelling to Blåkulla on Maundy Thursday (originally for a sabbath with the Devil) is honoured by children dressing up as witches (påskkärring), knocking the doors in the neighbourhoods requesting treats (much like the trick or treat during Halloween in many English-speaking countries). Good Friday used to be an extraordinarily calm day when all businesses were closed down to commemorate the passion of Christ, but today it is more of an ordinary holiday.

It is customary to eat boiled eggs as well as chocolate eggs and other sweets, and to hand out simple gifts in paper eggs. Easter decorations in the shape of chickens, easter bunnies and witches are popular, and also feathers in bright colours.

April Fools' Day on the 1st of April första april most people try to trick each other. If succeeded you say April, april din dumma sill jag kan lura dig vart jag vill meaning April, april you stupid herring, I can trick you where ever I want (to)

On the last day of April Walpurgis Night (Valborg) is celebrated throughout Sweden to greet spring. This is done by igniting large bonfires and singing songs celebrating the coming of springtime. This is also an occasion when Swedish youngsters and particularly university students drink large amounts of alcohol.

1 of May(Första maj), like the 1 of April most people try to trick another if succeeded you say Maj, maj måne, jag kan lura dig till Skåne meaning May, may moon, I can trick you to (go to) Scania.

May Day is a public holiday, and celebrated by the Swedish labor movement with demonstrations and political speeches.

Since Ascension Day, Kristi himmelfärdsdag, occurs on a Thursday, the subsequent Friday is a klämdag, "squeezed day", taken off from work by many Swedish people. Pentecost, pingst, often coincides with weddings and confirmations.

Summer

Midsummer's Eve is always on a Friday.

The Swedish National Day on June 6 is a public holiday as of 2005, but so far there are few established traditions for this day. The celebration of this day begun as the Day of the Swedish Flag, ca 1900, and the day is chosen in commemoration of the election of Gustav Vasa as King of Sweden on this date in 1523.

The second most important festivity in the Swedish calendar, or perhaps for many the most important, is Midsummer, midsommar. Midsummer's Eve is celebrated on the eve of the Saturday between the 20 and 26 June. Most Swedes try upon this day to get to a place in the countryside where they can eat pickled herring, boiled potatoes and sour cream as well as strawberries and brännvin. A maypole is often erected around which, at least if there are children present at the celebration, dancing is performed. Houses are often decorated in birch twigs. Midsumer's Eve is a very romantic and sexually loaded night for Swedes (evident in the phallic maypole) and it is traditional for young girls to in the middle of the night to pick seven different kinds of flowers and jump over seven hedges without uttering a word. Then would they dream of their true love when sleeping with the flowers tucked under their pillow.

The minimum vacation each year is five weeks, and most Swedes take all of July off - the "industrial vacation".

In early August, there is the kräftpremiär (crayfish première). It used to follow the crayfish fishing season, but as most crayfish are imported, the exact dates of crayfish parties have become more flexible.

Some Swedes eat surströmming, fermented Baltic herring, in late August. The rest keep distance.

A few weeks later comes the surströmmingspremiär sporting the most exotic food in the Swedish cuisine.

Autumn

Halloween in an American style was imported to Sweden during the 1990s, and is now widely celebrated among children and youth, with another opportunity to collect sweets from neighbours. However, unlike the US it is celebrated the same day as the Church of Sweden celebrates the All Saints day, alla helgons dag, (defined as the Saturday between October 31 and November 6) and is mostly observed by older kids in the later teens as an excuse for having drinking parties. The coincident with All Saints has caused some controversy, since the latter is supposed to be a solemn remembrance of the dead.

On the 11th of November, the people of Skåne celebrate Mårtensgås in remembrance of Martin of Tours, by eating goose. This tradition has little recognition in the rest of Sweden.

Christmas

The Gävle goat.

A julbord with Christmas dishes.

Swedes prepare for Christmas, jul, with Advent candles and opening Advent calendars. St. Lucia Day, Luciadagen on December 13, is a typically Swedish occasion. During Advent it's also common with Glöggfester mulled wine parties where friends visit each other's homes and drink mulled wine and have gingerbreads.

Traditional Christmas decorations include a Christmas tree, Yule Goats of straw (such as the Gävle goat), tomte and angel figurines and nativity scenes. Decoration has been influenced by Anglo-Saxon traditions, though extensive, blinking Christmas lights as common in the United States are considered to be a bit kitschy.

Many restaurants serve julbord (the Christmas version of smörgåsbord) throughout December. Most Christmas traditions take place as families and relatives gather on Christmas Eve. Jultomten, Santa Claus, visits many homes handing out presents, coincidentally when one family member is absent to buy the newspaper. There is no celebration on Christmas Day, except for julotta, a divine service in the morning commemorating the birth of Christ, and it is especially Swedish since it is only celebrated in Sweden and some places in Finland and Norway. Unlike many other Christian countries, cinemas are not closed on Christmas Day. On the contrary, many major films premiere on this day and it has become tradition for many to go to the cinema with the whole family on this night. The second day of Christmas Annandagen is a public holiday and typically the party day. In small and middle sized towns in Sweden, the Christmas Day and second day of Christmas are traditionally the Homecoming days, when people visiting their hometowns get together and party.

]Christmas television

Television (see television of Sweden) has been an important part in Swedish Christmas and New Year celebration, since it became widespread in the 1960s, which might seem natural with all the stress before the holidays, the darkness and cold outdoors (often with too little snow and ice to do snow sports), and the involuntary loneliness of many.

Each Advent, from December 1 to December 24, Sveriges Television features Julkalendern ("The Christmas calendar"), a daily drama series for a family audience. The Nobel Prize ceremony on December 10 is broadcast, with much attention to female celebrities' dresses.

At 15:00 on Christmas Eve, Sveriges Television airs Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul (From All of Us to All of You), commonly referred to as Kalle Anka - Donald Duck. (Donald is by far the most popular Disney cartoon in Sweden.) This one-hour show mostly contains clips from classical Disney films, such as Robin Hood and The Jungle Book (with the song The Bear Necessities), as well as promotional clips for recent Disney films, concluded with the song When You Wish Upon A Star. The show is one of the highest-rated Swedish television programs, only rivalled by international sports events and the Eurovision Song Contest, and most Swedish people can recite much of the show.

Another traditional christmas broadcast is Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons Julafton (Christopher's Christmas Mission).

(source:wikipedia)