Post-Christmas observations

1) Kalle's Caviar still makes an excellent Christmas tree ornament
2) Has anyone ever thought about nominating the Gävle goat as Lucia, thus requiring him to wear a halo of candles? Seems to me it would kill two birds with one stone
3) The shortest day of the year, December 21, has now passed, so it only gets lighter until Midsummer in June, when Swedes begin mourning the passing of summer
4) It's not a bad idea to wait until after Dec 25 to do Christmas shopping, in light of post-Christmas sales and the fact that I'm in the US right now, which means a very favorable exchange rate
5) Even though it's been one of the warmest winters in Stockholm ever, it's still so cold and dark in Sweden in December that 60 degrees fahrenheit (15 C) seems like Christmas in July. I needed sunglasses, however, to avoid sun stroke as I was unaccustumed to the blinding 3 pm light after inhabiting the subterannean caves of Scandinavia for the last four months