Celebrate Culture: Sweden

The people of Sweden speak Swedish, and Finnish.

The capital of Sweden is Stockholm.

Help your students to locate Sweden on the globe or a map.

Sweden is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe because of successful farms, industries and power plants.

The north part of Sweden is where the countrymen raise herds of reindeer.

Alfred Nobel was born in 1933 in Sweden. He was a chemist, inventor and philanthropist. Each year, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to someone who did an outstanding job in science, literature and international peace.

Author Astrid Lindgren wrote the classic children's book Pippi Longstockings. Read the book, Pippi Longstockings or allow your class to watch the cartoon.

December 13th is St. Lucia Day, also called the Festival of Lights. Tradition is that the oldest daughter of each family dresses in a white robe and a red sash wearing a crown of candles on her head. She serves her parents saffron buns and coffee.

On January 13th, St. Knut's Day is celebrated. It is the last day of the Yuletide Season. Over 900 years ago, King Knut declared this celebration for people to have parties while taking down the Christmas trees. Children are allowed to eat the cookie ornaments.

Cookie Ornaments

In honor of the activity of eating the ornaments on St. Knut's Day, students will participate in making, decorating and eating cookie "ornaments".

You will need:

*refrigerated sugar cookie dough

*cookie cutters

*rolling pins

*wax paper or butcher paper

*tubes of assorted colors of gel icing

*frosting

*plastic knife (to use for spreading frosting)

*access to an oven

*cookie sheets

Provide each child with a portion of cookie dough, wax paper or butcher paper, rolling pin and their choice of cookie cutters.

Instruct the children to roll out the dough on to the wax paper or butcher paper.

Each student should be able to make 2 cookies using the cookie cutter shapes.

Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake cookies according to package directions. Allow cookies to cool.

When cookies have cooled, instruct the children to decorate the cookies using frosting, gel icing or a combination of both.