Fanny and Alexander: Christmas


Ingmar Bergman masterpiece Fanny and Alexander has described by Bergman as "the sum total of my life as a filmmaker." Through the wide eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, the film witnesses the great delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family—a sprawling, convivial bourgeois clan living in 1907 Sweden. Fanny and Alexander is the legendary filmmaker’s warmest and most autobiographical film, a triumph that combines his trademark melancholy and emotional rigor with immense joyfulness and sensuality. Scene: both the family and their servants share an elaborate Christmas feast.

A popular Christmas tradition in Sweden is to serve Risgrynsgröt (Rice Pudding), special rice porridge with one almond in it. The person finding it gets to make a wish, or is believed to get married the coming year. 

How to do a really Swedish Christmas
"The real enjoyment of a Swedish Christmas is in the preparations. The “getting there” should be just as joyful as the real thing. This is important because many an ambitious housewife is too exhausted to enjoy the actual festivities". 
© Swedish Press