Posted on December 23, 2018
Queen Silvia of Sweden was born a mere commoner in Heidelberg, Germany, on this date in 1943. Her dad was German, and her mom was Brazilian.
Silvia Renate Sommerlath (as her name was at birth) met Sweden's Crown Prince during the 1972 Summer Olympics, which were held in Munich, Germany. They "just clicked."
Not long after they met, the king of Sweden died, and the Crown Prince became King Carl XVI.
And in 1976, Silvia-the-commoner married the king, becoming Queen Silvia of Sweden.
I think it's interesting to note that the Swedish musical group ABBA performed "Dancing Queen" for the very first time for Silvia and Carl the night before their wedding, as a tribute to the soon-to-be queen.
In addition to celebrating the Queen's birthday in the deep of winter, in Sweden, here are some other amazing Sweden-in-December happenings:
Some people like to stay in ice hotels or even get married in an ice chapel.
Some people explore the natural caves of ice formed by Sweden's strongest waterfall, Tännforsen. Some people even build their own igloos inside the ice caves!
Of course, Sweden is a great spot to see the Northern Lights!
It's amazing to check out Sami culture, which is one of the oldest cultures still extant on Earth.
Dogsledding and snowshoeing through the wilderness are popular activities. Or how about snowmobiling on a frozen river?
There are popular Christmas markets in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. And the Liseberg amusement park is lit by five MILLION lights for the holidays.
Oh, and people in Gävle can see a huge straw goat - unless it's been burned down! Every year, at the start of advent (the countdown to Christmas), townspeople take two days to craft the giant Yule Goat. But most years, vandals have burned it down before New Years Eve, and some years vandals have burned it down even before Christmas Eve.
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