This is a reposting of a guest blog post I did for Dos Family three years ago. I regularly receive emails asking for the link to download the Swedish Christmas record, so I will repost it here yearly!
In the United States, it’s not uncommon to hear Christmas music wafting from shop speakers as early as the beginning of November, but it’s not “Here Comes Santa Claus” or “Jingle Bell Rock” that puts me in the holiday spirit. For me, it’s not Christmastime until I put on the recording of Swedish Christmas music that I grew up listening to each and every year: Christmas in Sweden, recorded in 1962 by Åke Jelving and a chorus of parents and children.
This is jovial, happy music, sung with energy and enthusiasm…and with audible gasping and stomping!
Our mother may be Swedish, but my siblings and I haven’t got a clue what the lyrics mean. I suspect that they, like me, sing along phonetically (and badly) in the privacy of their own homes. On Christmas day, we put the record on and leave the singing to Mommy as we all hold hands and dance in a circle, usually around the spread of snacks and glögg on the kitchen island.
My gift to you is a download of Christmas in Sweden. Evan made the MP3s directly from the record, so you’ll hear all the same snaps and crackles that I do when I listen to the original. I think that just adds to the appeal! Unless you’re a Swede, this may not sound like Christmas music to you at first, but give it time. (And maybe enjoy it with a little glögg.)
To download the album, you’ll need to visit this link. No need to create an account, just click on “download.” Easy!
Grab a new link here!
God Jul!
p.s. Thanks so much to Jeremy for his help in making this year’s re-posting possible!
25 Comments
Looking forward to this. Thanks so much!
Thank you! Just a couple of days ago I remembered that I never downloaded it last year, so I went back to last year’s post and couldn’t, so now I’m super excited!
Thank you! What a treat!
Thank you – its kind of great.
God jul!
And thank you (I acctually understand the lyrics, beeing norwegian, but I haven´t heard the record before)
Looking forward to listen to it while wrapping the last gifts..
I love this music, it’s become a tradition in our house
Thanks for giving it to us.
Merry Christmas!
god jul! thanks for the download!
Thanks! 🙂
Thanks so much! I was just thinking about this today and that I needed to listen to it 🙂
Thank you very much and merry christmas!
God Jul från Sverige!!!
Thanks very much, Anna for this wonderful glimpse into your childhood joys of the season. As a first generation Hungarian, I too remember my Mom teaching me the Christmas carols of the Old Country, and even now when I listen to them, I get a bit of teary eyed nostalgia in my heart.
Happy , Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
Thank you so much! We downloaded this the first year you posted it and it has become a tradition in our house. We truly enjoy the music and have since found some Scandinavian radio stations on itunes that we regularly enjoy.
Thanks so much! I can’t wait to add this to our rotation 🙂
thank you for this download! I love it! Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and yours!
Thanks, I have been looking everywhere for this, it was what my mom would play during Christmas when I was a kid.
Hi im reza…from iran..i see your blog…its good
happy christmas for you and family…byby
God Jui Anna – tack så mycket!
I too grew up with a Swedish mother and listened to music much like this at Christmas (and drinking glogg too!)….so to find this on your blog was a real treat. Warmest aloha and Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii!
merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
Hi Anna, since you posted this for the fist time, we´been listening to Christmas in Sweden every year :). It´s been three years already? And to me, it actually really does sound like christmas music. It sounds very warm and kind to me. Jana (from Czech Republic)
Hi Anna,
I just wanted to ask you an unrelated question about the WP theme you are using, I hope you don’t mind.
Is this maybe Modern Clix?
I’ve been modifying Modern Clix for a new blog, and would like to extend the length of the post but haven’t been able to find the correct piece of code. How did you accomplish it?
It may be via the additional grid stylesheet, but which part? I’m completely clueless about php code, i do everything by trial and error, and you’ve done a great job, if this is indeed the theme.
I’ve read that span 2 in the grid 900.css takes care of the little left column, which you can comment out – would you get rid of it if you knew how?
Agnieszka
Hi Agnieszka, sorry, I don’t know anything about Modern Clix. This blog is a modified version of Blogum by WPshower—that info is on my FAQ page. I’d suggest taking a look at the support documents for the theme you’re using and seeing if they have a user forum. 🙂
Owhs.. i was convinced this theme was Modern Clix, lol.. 🙂
You are a Christmas Angel for making this wonderful record available! I remember dancing around the Christmas tree in a big church hall..huge, huge circle of laughing parents and children, singing these songs at the top of our lungs….what fun it was for us kids! It’s been a family favourite with my own family now, but we lost the album sometime around when we went digital. SO GREAT to hear that music again. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for making this available. As with most other users this was a favorite in my childhood, I’ve been making do with what replacements I could find.
Thank you again!!