Day 203. Ya still gotta love the Swedes

So off I trudge in the slushy snow to get the premier invitations out on time. Not the most glamorous part of the job but, hey, someone's got to do it :-) The nearest "last minute" mailbox (last pick-up time 19.00) is at Medborgarplatsen, one t-bana stop away or about a 10 minute walk from my place. (That was yesterday's news, btw; today, I learned that in Ringen it is 18.00 and at the one outside Ringen it's 19.00.) 

But I digress. I was trudging. Jo...Medborgarplatsen is a gathering point on Söder. Great in the summer. Lots of outdoor cafés, food vendors, a library, swimming pool, food hall and multiplex. And a last minute mailbox. This is the sight that greets me as I approach.

Red for Christmas, pose side-by-side with year-rounders Yellow and Blue, the national colors.

Ya gotta love it. Only in Sweden, bless their souls. These red season guests pop up every year at around this time and then retreat soon after Christmas, only to show up again reliably a year later. They'll motivate it with all sorts of stats, and surround it by rules and processes, etc. but still...I like living in a society where things like "last minute" mailboxes and Yule Tidnings matter.

As do Chanukkah greetings. Our Chanukkah celebration at Kungsträdgården this year was covered by a number of newspapers and TV stations. That was nice. A live and let live attitude goes a long way toward maintaining peace, as long as you don't equate "live and let live" with "don't care." We need to stop being divisive and instead reach out to one another, within and beyond our core group.

A long way from "last minute" mailboxes, eh?!

Namaste.