Nordisk jul

by Selma Lagerlöf, Herman Bang, Sigrid Undset

Nordisk jul er en samling af nordiske julefortællinger. Nogle af Nordens største fortællere beretter her om alt, der vedrører julen. Der er opbyggelige fortællinger om medmenneskelighed, mirakler og tro, mørkere og hjerteskærende fortællinger, der minder os om vigtigheden af medmenneskelighed i julen, fortællinger, hvor gamle fjendskaber sættes til side, så der opstår en mulighed for forsoning og forståelse julenat, fortællinger om julens forventninger, skuffelser og glæder, om julegilder, juleforberedelser og ikke mindst julegaver. Glædelig jul!

Indhold:
Den hellige nat – Hulda Lütken
En juleaften – Marie Bregendahl
Et julegilde – Knut Hamsun
Fred på jorden – Selma Lagerlöf
I juletravlheden – Marie Bregendahl
I kupéen – Victoria Benedictsson
Julefred – Sigrid Undset
Julegaver – Herman Bang
Karens jul – Amalie Skram
Legenden om juleroserne – Selma Lagerlöf

Pelsen – Hjalmar Söderberg

Genres: Christmas

187 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2025

About the author

Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish author. In 1909 she became the first woman to ever receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in appreciation of the lofty idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual perception that characterize her writings". She later also became the first female member of the Swedish Academy.

Born in the forested countryside of Sweden she was told many of the classic Swedish fairytales, which she would later use as inspiration in her magic realist writings. Since she for some of her early years had problems with her legs (she was born with a faulty hip) she would also spend a lot of time reading books such as the Bible.

As a young woman she was a teacher in the southern parts of Sweden for ten years before her first novel Gösta Berling's Saga was published. As her writer career progressed she would keep up a correspondance with some of her former female collegues for almost her entire life.

Lagerlöf never married and was almost certainly a lesbian (she never officially stated that she was, but most later researchers believe this to be the case). For many years her constant companion was fellow writer Sophie Elkan, with whom she traveled to Italy and the Middle East. Her visit to Palestine and a colony of Christians there, would inspire her to write Jerusalem, her story of Swedish farmers converting into a evangelical Christian group and travelling to "The American Colony" in Jerusalem.

Lagerlöf was involved in both women issues as well as politics. She would among other things help the Jewish writer Nelly Sachs to come to Sweden and donated her Nobel medal to the Finnish war effort against the Soviet union.

Outside of Sweden she's perhaps most widely known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils).

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

My criteria for reviewing the individual stories in this collection: Did it make me feel the Christmas spirit?
Ended up DNF'ing this one at the Julegaver by Herman Bang. This whole book with all its many stories was just meh for me. I want to use my time on better Christmas stories before Christmas is over.

Mini-reviews:
Den hellige nat "The holy night" by Hulda Lütken
Den hellige nat ("The holy night") captures the stillness of winter and the fragile hopes people carry. A man in a cabin longs for his wife to return home. Den hellige nat showcases Lütken’s gift for capturing emotional depth in everyday life. Her poetic, gently melancholic prose builds more on atmosphere than plot, making the story both subtle and fleeting — yet beautifully lingering in mood.
★ ★

En juleaften "A Christmas Eve" by Marie Bregendahl
En juleaften ("A Christmas Eve") is a tender, quietly perceptive story about a danish rural family’s Christmas Eve in the past, where small domestic moments reveal both the warmth and the unspoken tensions of everyday life. She tells of all the little things rural danes used to do leading up to christmas. And how the mothers presence - or absence - changed christmas all-together.
★ ★

Et julegilde "A Christmas Feast" by Knut Hamsun
Et julegilde (“A Christmas Feast”) is a short story where Hamsun blends humor, irony, and sharp observation to portray a group of people gathered for a Christmas celebration in a small village. Behind the seemingly cozy setting, small intrigues, jealousy, vanity quickly unfold. Hamsun shows how the holiday can evoke warm feelings while also bringing out people’s more comical or petty sides. The result is an atmospheric yet slightly satirical sketch of human nature in the glow of Christmas.
★ ★

Fred på Jorden "Peace on Earth" by Selma Lagerlöf
Fred på Jorden ("Peace on Earth")» takes place on Christmas Eve, where a family is gathered in their warm, peaceful living room. Suddenly there is a knock on the door — and an unexpected figure enters. The visitor turns out to be the family’s long-lost daughter/sister, who disappeared years ago. Her return raises painful questions: What happened to her? Why has she come back now? Should they make amends with abducters or seek revenge on Christmas Eve?

The story becomes a moral exploration of whether peace on earth can exist within a family marked by trauma, shame, and unresolved conflict. The returned daughter/sister is clearly marked (physically and/or emotionally) by what she has been through. Lagerlöf portrays her with great empathy, showing how hard it is for people to accept someone who comes back broken or changed. The story highlights the fear, shame, and vulnerability involved both in returning and in receiving someone back.
★ ★ ★ ★

I juletravlheden "In the Christmas rush" by Marie Bregendahl
In “Juletravlheden” Bregendahl realistically portrays rural life in the days leading up to Christmas back in the day. We follow a number of characters, especially women and children, who are busy with all the many practical preparations: slaughtering, cooking, cleaning, dealing with guests, and the social rules that come with the holiday. Bregendahl shows both the stress, the hard work, and the small joys of a time that is often romanticized, but which for many was hard labor from morning to night.
★ ★

I kupéen "In the compartment" by Victoria Benedictsson
I kupéen ("In the compartment")

Julefred "Christmas peace" by Sigrid Undset
Julefred ("Christmas peace")
- DNF'ed halfway through.

Julegaver "Christmas presents" by Herman Bang
Julegaver ("Christmas presents")

Karens jul "Karen's Christmas" by Amalie Skram
Karens jul ("Karen's Christmas")

Legenden om juleroserne "The legend of the christmas roses" by Selma Lagerlöf
Legenden om juleroserne ("The legend of the christmas roses")

Pelsen "The fur" by Hjalmar Söderberg
Pelsen ("The fur")

[Dagmar Kjær · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det var virkelig ikke nogen hyggelig julebog. Nogle af historierne var meget sørgelige, men nogle af dem var det på en rørende måde. Nogle af historierne sagde mig ikke så meget, men nogle af historierne sagde mig rigtig meget. Legenden om juleroserne af Selma Lagerlöf var min yndlings.

[Bente · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5🌟

[Ellen Johanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meget bedre end de sentimentale julebøger af nyere dato som fx Jul i strandhuset.

[Nickie Mariager-Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virkelig fine julehistorier fra Norden.