I’m currently spending time in a relatively cold Piteå (-27 degrees right now). The Palt dinner (traditional dish in the northern parts of Sweden) at mother’s is just finished and the effects of the ”paltkoma” (you get VERY tired after eating this dish) begins to make itself felt. Those who think that they are tired when the alarm clock rings at 7:00 after a Swedish typical Christmas party at work, have never eaten more than three of my mother’s ”paltar” and tried to stay awake an hour later …

It feels almost unbelievable that it’s Christmas again, and just like every year, this is a time to summarize the past year, and start thinking of what to look forward to, for the next.

For many people, Christmas is an incredible great time of year. Hang out with family and friends, sit together at the Christmas tree, watch a movie with a loooong preceded best before date, Christmas music played in the background, traditional bad jokes, and the possibility to once again listen to those family stories that are told every year.

For some others, it may be the opposite, ie that Christmas brings anxiety and pressure, perhaps because they’ve lost someone, failed to get kids, poor economy, unable to be with the people they want to celebrate with, or simply have less pleasant memories associated with Christmas.

Personally, this year, like every year, contained amounts of both positive and negative events. If the year is to be characterized as a good or bad year I do not know, but I know that there are both memories and experiences that will mean a lot to me for the rest of my life.

A while ago I posted a story “I wish you enough” by Bob Perks, and perhaps that story is about what actually makes us happy; the mixture of the negative experiences that, in turn, creates contrast and makes us appreciate all the positive things in life? There are many clichés in that area, but I think there is a lot in that story. To stop, think and take contemplate about the year that’s gone is an important part.

An interesting phenomenon that increasingly made itself felt in recent years is Facebook, and how it affected our lives. If I may make one, perhaps exaggerated parallel, I think Facebook in a way is a year-round Christmas spirit with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and fb friends that gives us positive pushes and “likes” the positive things that happens to us in our life, and with simple small presses of a button, we all have a chance to mean something to someone else, and share their joy and life experiences.

I know I’m going a bit far with the analogy above, but somehow I feel that Facebook with all the “friends in real life”, colleagues, acquaintances and fb friends that I share my experience with means a lot to me, and I am grateful for the people I have been fortunate to have around me, both there and in ordinary life.

Merry Christmas to you all, the followers of this blog, my Facebook friends, and whether you have the best Christmas as you hoped for, or for some reason have one of those less enjoyable “middle Christmases” that puts the rest of the year in a better perspective, I hope you get a great end of the year, and that this Christmas is what you want it to be.