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21 Story of an Emigrant.
there was no distinction as to persons. The lowest
servant-bov had his seat, and received the same attention as the
children or members of the family. When all were seated a
Christmas prayer was offered by the head of the family,
after which a hymn was sung, in which all joined; then were
brought in from the kitchen great dishes of "Lut Fisk,"
served with drawn butter and mustard sauce; after that a
roast of beef or pork, and at last the Yule-mush. About the
time that this was finished, some one who had quietly
stepped outside returned in the disguise of Santa Claus, and
threw baskets full of Christmas presents on the floor. The
children and younger servants made a scramble for these,
amid shouts of hilarious joy and distributed them according
to the directions written on each bundle. No one was
forgotten. Then at the table followed cakes with sweet wine
or punch, and nuts and apples, all of which was enjoyed
hugely and deliberate^’, so that it was often ten o’clock
before the tables were cleared. The remainder of the
evening was spent in quiet amusments, such as telling stories
about princes and princesses, giants and trolls, conundrums,
tricks with cards, etc., and seldom did the happy circle break
up until nearly mid-night.
Christmas day was considered a very holy day. There
were no visits made, no work done except of the greatest
necessity, such as feeding the animals and keeping up the
fires; no cooking was done on that day, but meals were
served mostly cold from the delicious head cheese, pork roast
and other delicacies, which had been prepared beforehand.
The greatest event of all the season, and in fact of the whole
year, was the early service (ottesang) in the parish church,
at five o’clock on Christmas morning. Hundreds of candles
were lighted in chandeliers and candlesticks. The altar was
covered with gold embroidered cloth; the floor was strewn
with fresh twigs of juniper, and soon the people began to
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