Åke Jelving

Artist: Åke Jelving with Chorus and Orchestra

LP: Christmas In Sweden

Song: "Julpotpourri, Lekar" (Christmas Medly of Games)

[ listen ]

My friend Theresa invited me and another friend to join her for a pancake breakfast at the Swedish Cultural Center yesterday morning. On the first Sunday of every month (except July), the center's friendly Swedish volunteers prepare and serve a delicious Swedish pancake breakfast (with ham) for the people of Seattle to enjoy. The pancakes are served with either lingonberry or strawberry topping, along with a big dollop of whipped cream. There were Swedish musicians, singers, and dancers on hand to entertain us while we ate, and Theresa, Gene and I were especially fortunate to have an authentic mid-19th century Swedish peasant family join us at our table. I marveled as the eldest son (about age 16) engaged his family in breakfast conversation about the structural integrity of a square, after which the family began discussing various philosophers' theories on eternal life. His 14-year-old brother didn't say much, but nodded in thoughtful agreement while sporting the most incredible example of unintentional bed-headed hipster hair I've ever seen. Meanwhile, having finished her pancakes, the boys' pudgy 11-year-old sister, her blond hair worn in two long braids, lifted her large ceramic plate to her face and began licking the remaining lingonberry sauce from it until the plate was clean. As we were leaving the center, we found some display cases in the hallway that contained old Swedish Christmas records stapled to the wall. This one was included, as was this nice Åke Jelving record that features a variety of traditional Swedish holiday songs and dances. You can read a little about Mr. Jelving on Wikipedia here. The LP's liner notes are included below—along with a drawing that depicts a hazardous and ill-advised Scandinavian Christmas tradition involving lighted candles and hair.