After a difficult morning, I pulled myself together to meet up with new friends. Today in Gustav Adolfs Torg they had the lighting ceremony for the city of Malmö. I had originally planned to go alone but was very glad to have company. I invited the sister missionaries and a young woman from church named Maddie to attend the First Advent lighting ceremony today. The sister missionaries baked cookies to give out and had a little Christmas tree where they asked people to write why they celebrated Christmas on a tag. They got to have some fun conversations. None of them had experienced a Christmas in Sweden yet. Maddie is here working as an Au Pair from Mexico. She speaks English but not Swedish.

It had been raining most of the day but stopped in time for the afternoon events which started at 3 pm. There are photo opportunities all over town and the announcer said there were one million lights in the city. I look forward to exploring more as I move to the center of town on Wednesday and can go through each section of town with leisure.

The event started with a Brass Band which played some traditional and new tunes. The announcer sang her own version of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” about the city full of lights which, was very fun. Then we missed some things because Maddie was very underdressed and we needed to get her warm so we went into a store for a while.

We came out just in time to see Lucia be crowned. We got to hear them sing some traditional songs and some new renditions of the old. Lucia and her attendants did a beautiful job. By then Maddie was very cold so I helped her get onto the bus to start heading home and I took myself on a walk through lights. They are pretty magnificent and I will share more as the month goes on.

I was in Lund at Kulturland yesterday evening for their Christmas Market, although I was disappointed. There were not very many vendors and lots more museum than I was in the mood for. It is definitely a place museum lovers would enjoy. I took a quick look through each building and then headed downtown where I took myself to a Chinese restaurant. The dessert of deep-fried banana and pineapple ice cream was delicious. The prawns were good but the rest, not so much. Still, I was hungry and it was food.

One thing I absolutely love about the cities and towns here is their walkability. It is also very fun to see the lights everywhere. It really does help illuminate the dark nights which come at this time of year. It is great fun to see all the people using public transportation, riding bicycles, and walking. Parents with their children either in front or behind them on the bicycles are the most amazing. I guess you would get the hang of it after a while. I am impressed by their dedication to doing so when a car would be so much easier.

Tomorrow I will meet Maddie at the train station and we will ride and walk to church together. It will be nice to have company. I already know I will miss her when she leaves in five months but I am grateful for her presence in my life now. Things get better a tiny bit at a time somedays and that is how it is this week. It is Saturday so going to enjoy a bit of chocolate before I head to bed.