They come every year around this time,
gathering at the long bar
or huddling around the worn wooden tables.
Many stand in the middle of the floor
shoulder to shoulder
surrounded by Swedish flags, gnomes,
and Viking ship replicas
sipping the glögg
and breathing in its potent scent of cinnamon and clove.
But most of all they come here to sing.
To sing the old familiar songs
along with members of Ebenezer Lutheran Church.
Of mangers and angels, little lambs and shepherd boys,
westward leading.
“These are very rare things,” says owner Scott Martin.
“Don’t be yapping while we’re singing,” he warns, good-naturedly.
The comforting words of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,”
“Oh, Holy Night,”
“Once in Royal David’s City,” and so many others
fill the room.
“You sound great,” we are told.
The evening ends with the same two classics
“Silent Night” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
as folks finish their last glass of glögg
put on their coats and file out into
the cold December night
waiting until next year to do it all again.
Skål!