Read and watch his posts on the “On Campus” blog here:

•  – A few noteworthy and newsworthy items about Augsburg

•  – Meet President Paul C. Pribbenow and his passion for bow ties, commitment to Augsburg students, and vision for the College’s future

•  – Experiments in the organic chemistry class taught by Assistant Professor Michael Wentzel really shine — or, rather, glow

•  – Beatboxing Auggies Matthew Kukar and Connor Doebbert demonstrate their talents

•  – Friedrich takes in Velkommen Jul

•  – An overview of lunchtime in the Commons

•  – Norwegian traditions abound in special Daily Chapel service

• What an Augsburg apartment looks like – A peak inside Luther Hall

•  – The ins and outs of breakfast at Augsburg

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This week, as students begin working on final papers, projects, and exams, many at Augsburg are looking forward to two holiday traditions that highlight the College’s Scandinavian heritage and share the gifts and talents of the Augsburg community with others. These two annual events are the traditional Scandinavian Velkommen Jul celebration hosted by the Augsburg Associates on November 30, and Advent Vespers, a service of music and liturgy which features the musical talents of Augsburg’s instrumental and choral ensembles on November 30 and December 1.

Velkommen Jul begins with chapel service at 10:20 a.m. and moves to the Christensen Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event, rumored to be one of the largest gatherings of Norwegian sweaters in the country, includes Scandinavian music and foods such as krumkake (a Norwegian waffle cookie) and lutefisk (dried whitefish prepared with lye and butter), handcrafted items, and a visit from St. Nicholas.

33rd Advent Vespers

Advent Vespers celebrates the beginning of the holiday season with a service of traditional and contemporary hymns, anthems, and carols. The Augsburg College Advent Vespers celebration is one of the largest holiday music events in the Twin Cities with more than 10,000 worshipers participating annually.

Held in the beautifully renovated Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis, this event features more than 300 participants including choirs, instrumentalists, readers, and a full liturgical party.

Velkommen Jul’s sweet traditions

Want to make some of those tasty treats at home? Find , courtesy of the Augsburg Associates, in the Fall 2009 issue of the Augsburg Now magazine.

The Augsburg College Associates is a service auxiliary of volunteers, including alumni and friends of Augsburg, whose mission includes fundraising for special projects and scholarships in support of Augsburg College. Throughout the year, the Associates manage estate and moving sales in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area. During the past two years, they have also had a booth at the Taste of Augsburg event held Homecoming weekend. The Associates have given to Augsburg more than a half million dollars from their fundraising.

Share your sweater

Snap a picture of you and your friends at Velkommen Jul and/or Advent Vespers and share it with @AugsburgCollege Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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Augsburg’s Mary Laurel True of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship has a Norwegian sweater with an interesting history. She writes:

Several years ago I bought what I thought might be a Norwegian sweater at Savers second hand store so that I would have appropriate attire for the celebration of Velkommen Jul at Augsburg College.

I wore it a little sheepishly the first year not knowing if the many members of the Augsburg Norwegian community would think that I was foolishly wearing a sweater from the wrong country.

While enjoying some traditional treats of the day, I was approached by one of the long-time Augsburg Associates volunteers, Evie Sonnack, who was looking with amazement at me as she asked, “Where did you get that sweater?” I said that I had bought it in a second hand store in Minneapolis. She happily told me the following story:

Evie’s mother-in-law and her sister were traveling around Norway in 1959 and decided to order handmade matching sweaters. One sweater was for herself, and one was for each of her daughter-in-laws. When Evie’s mother-in-law passed away, she was given her sweater. Evie kept it for several years and then donated it to a thrift shop.

She said that, in fact, the exact sweater that I was wearing was the one that her mother-in-law had ordered on that trip. She was sure of this as it had unusual features that made it easy to distinguish from other Norwegian sweaters of its kind—both had zippers (not pewter clasps) and a very distinct pattern.

The sweater I was wearing had found its way home to the Norwegian college for a Velkommen Jul celebration. I begged Evie to wear her 1959 red, white, and blue sister sweater to Velkommen Jul the next year. She did, and we marveled at the sweater’ reunion to each other after all these years!

Evie (nickname “Inch” because she’s so tiny) is an Augsburg alum 1943. She met her husband, Paul Sonnack ’42 at Augsburg. Paul’s father, Paul Sr. graduated from the Augsburg seminary and college in 1919.

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Velkommen Jul is an annual Christmas celebration you don’t want to miss. The event will feature Scandinavian Yuletide music, tasty treats including krumkake and the ever-popular yet odious lutefisk, handcrafted items, Norwegian bunads, and a visit from St. Nicholas during chapel.

The Augsburg College Associates, who number around 100, are a service auxiliary of volunteers whose mission includes fundraising for special projects and scholarships in support of Augsburg College. In the nearly 20 years since their founding, the Associates have given to Augsburg more than a half million dollars from their fundraising. They host Velkommen Jul as a service to the Augsburg community and as a way to celebrate its Norwegian heritage.

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Velkommen Jul is translated as “Escorting in the Season,” and it is an annual Christmas celebration you don’t want to miss. The event will feature Scandinavian Yuletide music, many tasty treats, handcrafted items, Norwegian bunads, and a visit from St. Nicholas during chapel.

The Augsburg College Associates, who number around 100, are a service auxiliary of volunteers whose mission includes fundraising for special projects and scholarships in support of Augsburg college. In the nearly 20 years since their founding, the Associates have given to Augsburg more than a half million dollars from their fundraising. They host Velkommen Jul as a service to the Augsburg community and as a way to celebrate its Norwegian heritage.

Silje Bjelland, a current Augsburg student from Norway, remembers all the different preparations they make back home that lead up to Christmas Eve. “We have an Advent calendar to mark the days,” she recalls. “For each day, you open another door in the calendar and some like to have little present or a chocolate there.”

“We also start baking cakes and cookies, which should be seven different types,” Silje explains. “They are cookies such as ‘kvite kakemenn,’ ‘pepperkaker,’ and ‘lussekatter’ to share with friends and neighbors. ‘Julekake,’ a popular Christmas bread filled with raisins and candied fruit, is also baked at Christmas.”

Despite starting their Christmas preparations with Advent, Silje says that some of the fun is saved for the very end. “Many families, as a tradition, decorate their Christmas tree on Dec. 23, which is the ‘little Christmas Eve,'” she says.  “Christmas Eve is the big day, where the families gather for Christmas dinner in the evening, and after the dinner, we open presents.”

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This event takes place in the remarkable neo-Gothic sanctuary of Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis, with a ceiling that soars 65 feet and large stained glass windows similar to those of London’s Westminster Abbey. More than 350 musicians, liturgists and banner carriers will participate in this dramatic and uplifting event.

Seating envelopes are required for the service and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Suggested donations, received at the door, are $10 per person or $25 per family. Non-perishable food donations will be collected before each service for distribution to community food banks. For more information, call 612-330-1444 or visit .

Meanwhile, join us on Nov. 30 for Velkommen Jul, a Scandinavian celebration of the start of the Christmas season. A special Velkommen Jul chapel service will be held that day at 10:20 a.m. in the Hoversten Chapel. Afterwards, enjoy Scandinavian treats and gifts hosted by the Augsburg Associates in the Christensen Center from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

For more information on Velkommen Jul, check out this article.

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