Yulefest! (And a little Thanksgiving)

Today is Thanksgiving, but I will not go on too much about that; I spent the day with friends and family, being thankful for all the good things in life. Fun times, as always! Oh yeah, and I got photobombed.

Instead, I will describe an event that took place last weekend: Yulefest at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard. Yup, we're talking Finnish folk dancers, Norwegian pastries, Christmas decorated Dala horses, accordions, straw ornaments, and lots and lots of old people wearing folk costumes.

Awesomeness was abundant. Just watch this

 and this

 

and this

not to mention this

Okay, I realise that I might come across as very sarcastic but truth be told, my friend and I had a great time. It was really interesting and fun to see the American interpretation of Nordic traditions. However, I have to say that they really messed up the Lucia procession... Honestly, I have no idea what was going on, but it included a bunch of little Lucia maidens doing the chicken dance around a man in a yellow feathered mask. Oooh-kay... There was no singing, no reading of verses, not even a Lucia! David Lynch could not have made it weirder; I was too shocked to even take a photo of the travesty. But hey, at least we got gingerbread thins afterwards so I guess that makes up for it? (Not really.)

On Sunday, I can finally surrender completely to my Christmas yearnings; I will be able to light my calendar candle, make myself a cup of Christmas tea and press play on my Spotify X-mas playlist without any remorse. At last!

After the marathon, that is...