Första Advent

In Sweden the four Sundays prior to Christmas are celebrated by lighting candles. A candlestick with four holders= Adventstake. The first Sunday, you light the first candle and let it burn for a little while, then the second Sunday you light the first one and the one right next to it. And so on and so on until all four candles are lit on the last sunday before Christmas. The fourth Sunday before Christmas is called "Första Advent". This Sunday is usually looked forward to more than the others as this one is kind of an official welcome of Christmas. (Kind of like the day after Thanksgiving, minus the shopping frenzy) It is often celebrated with church services, and mass. I was asked to play in a little quartet at one of the big churches down town, Gustav Adolfskyrkan. So of course I said yes. I didn't get a whole lot of good pics since it was already dark at 5 p.m. when it started. And I didn't have any family or friends with me to play camera dude/dudette. So here's what I got. I also included a pic of our little "Adventstake" that the girls and I lit Sunday night while eating ginger snapp cookies and dipping them in milk.

I'm not sure, but I think it's supposed be Moses,
I just thought it was kind of cool with a face sticking out of the wall :)

This was a picture carved out of wood

Some pretty paintings at the front of the church

This is the back of the Church where the big Organ is

The Four musicians :)

Here's a little clip of the girls downing their treat. Sorry, it's all in Swedish ;)
Here's a little Advents poem