By: Nicole Wahlin

Kjerstie Mary Dahl She was born on September 1, 1864 at Hybe West Malmo, Sweden. She died on November 4, 1952 in Ogden, Utah.

Kjerstie was the last member of her family to immigrate to America; she was 17 years old. “The voyage across the ocean was terrible. I was deathly sick. I thought I would die!”

After arriving in New York Kjerstie traveled to Ogden, Utah by train. A good chunk of the trip was spent on flat cars without roofs. “These large and frightening mountains made me very nervous.”

Although Kjerstie was not able to bring much to America, she was able to bring her family traditions that she grew up with. Many of those traditions, specifically Christmas, my family continues to participate in today.

Many families serve Risgryngrot, special rice porridge with one almond in it. The person finding it gets to make a wish, or is believed to get married the coming year. A christmas dinner buffet consisting of ham, fish, and sweets.

In Sweden it is tradition to dance around the Christmas tree and sing carols. A popular Christmas carol is called, “Nu har vi ljus här i vårt hus,” or “We Have Kindled the Candles in Our House Now.” 0pxA5bzEvfw&feature=related

The most common instrument used in Swedish music is the fiddle. Many fiddlers of old were said to have learnt their music from näcken. Näcken is a water spirit, who lives in streams, and plays the fiddle.

the nyckelharpa (key fiddle) many people now will play the recorder (blockflöjt), but there is also a traditional type of whistle called spelpipa or spilåpipa. The Swedish bagpipe is a single-reed bagpipe. The accordion

The most common type of tune in Swedish music is the polska, plural polskor. It is a dance tune played in 3/4 time, though not the same way as a waltz. In a polska, the beats 1 and 3 are heavy and downward, and beat 2 is light and upward, something like "bom - bip - bom" \ ' \ \ ' \ \ ' \

A form of entertainment that is energetic and lively making people everywhere want to dance. The music brings families and people together; music is always found in family or community gatherings.

s#Swedish