Winter Genealogy Club Meeting

Join us for the winter Genealogy Club meeting. Gather with fellow ASHM members and explore the branches of your Swedish ancestry. The meeting will feature a presentation by project specialist Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner, who will tell the group about here task of putting ASHM's entire library collection online. Make a day of it and follow up the genealogy program with research time in the library and be sure to sign up for our delicious pea soup dinner! 

Toddler Time: Winter Wonderland

The weather outside is frightful but the Museum is so delightful! In January come and explore what Sweden is like in winter. Join us as we read The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth and experience engaging indoor wintertime fun with "inside snow" and craft activities.

Cost: $5 per child or free for Museum Household Members. There is no charge for accompanying caregivers.
Registration is recommended, but not required. Register online or pay at the door.

Film Screening: "The Girl Who Saved My Life"

In conjunction with our new exhibit Where the Children Sleep, ASHM will be screening the film The Girl Who Saved My Life. In August 2014, documentary filmmaker Hogir Hirori leaves his pregnant wife in Sweden to go back to his homeland, Iraqi Kurdistan, to document the stories of the refugees of war. He is offered to come along on a helicopter transport to the Shingal Mountains, where hundreds of thousands of people are stuck.

Guided Museum Tour

Have holiday guests that you need to entertain? Looking for a reason to get out of the house after the holiday crush? Do you want to see the American Swedish Historical Museum in a new way? Join us on December 27th for a guided tour of the Museum! Don’t miss this opportunity to get an in-depth look at the gallery spaces with Museum Director Tracey Beck. Spaces on the tour are limited and pre-registration is recommended.

Lucia & Christmas Market

Light, warmth and Christmas songs have been hallmarks of the Lucia celebration at ASHM since 1939. Each year, families pour through the magnificent bronze doors of the museum to be greeted by the aroma of freshly baked pastries, meatball dishes and strong Swedish coffee. Stroll through the Christmas Market, or Julmarknad, where Swedish delicacies, crafts, decorations, and imported gifts may be purchased, before the musical entertainment begins. The Swedish Christmas Café will also be selling your favorite sweet and savory holiday foods.          

Julbord

Join us for a very special Swedish holiday tradition. Cocktails and an authentic Christmas smörgåsbord dinner are followed by the Lucia procession. The Christmas Market is open all evening.

Members $50
Non-members $60
Cash bar
Register by phone or online by November 27th.

Cane Axe (Käppyxa)

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After a decline in traditional usage, cane axes saw a renaissance by the late 1600s. Young noblemen at Uppsala University wielded these axes not in battle or mining but instead as fashionable accessories. This particular axe—with its ornate mother-of-pearl veneer and runic inscriptions—was likely part of this rebirth.