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Get Ready for the Holidays at a Jul Bazaar Near You
The holidays are here!
Can you think of a better way to kick things off than celebrating with decorative rosemåling, wooden ornaments, holiday crafts and baked goods with all the jellies and cheeses? How about having all of these things available at once to purchase?
Across the United States, Swedish communities and organizations are gearing up for Jul Bazaar, a marketplace-style shopping experience offering anything and everything for a traditional Scandinavian holiday season.
This Saturday, the District Lodge New Jersey No. 6 Vasa Order of America will have its 44th annual Jul Bazaar at Vasa Park in Budd Lake from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Viking Hall. Swedes, holiday enthusiasts and shoppers alike will have an opportunity to shop for overseas items, typically only available in the area during this annual free event.
“One of our members travels back home to Sweden a few times throughout the year to bring back items just for our Jul Bazaar,” said Carol Boyle, a former board of trustee and longtime member of District Lodge No. 6 Vasa Order of America. “Other vendors sell imported food, crystals, wood ornaments and other items you can’t typically find in the U.S.”
Each year, the lineup of vendors changes, but you always can find holiday crafts, coffee and baked goods like limpa bread and coffee cakes, beautiful hand-embroidered items and so much more. In addition to shopping, there is a traditional Swedish meatball lunch available for purchase. The crafts, ornaments, textiles and gifts at the Jul Bazaar help people get into the holiday spirit while celebrating their traditional Swedish heritage.
“Everything at the Jul Bazaar celebrates the traditions that our grandparents brought over from Sweden,” Boyle said. “All of the celebrations and events we have today are memories I have from my childhood and things we have carried across generations. We’re fixed on these traditions.”
Like the District Lodge New Jersey No. 6 Vasa, other Swedish organizations across the country are hosting their own version of the holiday bazaar. Here are some others happening over the next month.
Julbasaren “Christmas Bazaar”
Hosted by Svenska kyrkan (Swedish Church in New York)
SWEA of Orange County’s Annual Christmas Fair
Nov. 19, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Hosted by the local chapter of the Swedish Women’s Education Association
SWEA Washington D.C. Christmas Bazaar
Hosted by the local chapter of the Swedish Women’s Educational Association
SWEA Los Angeles Annual Christmas Fair
Hosted by the local chapter of the Swedish Women’s Educational Association
Julmarknad – American Swedish Institute’s Christmas Market
Hosted by the American Swedish Institute
Scandinavian Christmas Fair Raleigh N.C.
Sponsored by the local chapter of the Swedish Women’s Educational Association and Vasa Order of America
Did we miss an upcoming Jul Bazaar near you? Email us at Umgasmagazine@gmail.com.
God Jul!
