Fika is the social institution of a coffee break. Fika can be just a cup of coffee, but most often includes a coffee cake or an assortment of cookies. A semla (or semlor if more than one) is a sweet dessert bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, and topped with powdered sugar; it is sometimes eaten with warm milk. This tasty dessert is served during winter and especially on Fat Tuesday (Fettisdagen).

Join us on Saturday, January 22, 2022 beginning at 2:00 PM for our Annual Meeting and Semlor Fika (at which we will elect our directors and approve our budget for the coming year).  It will be held in the Fellowship Hall of First Lutheran Church, 1311 Holman St (Houston); the cost is $5 for members.  We hope to see you there!

Click here by Thursday January 20 to submit your reservation online.

Only those members who have paid their 2022 dues will be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

As everyone knows, Continental Airlines is no more (and, as a result, we have lost our sponsor of Lucia's airfare from Houston to Sweden). Thus, it becomes incumbent upon the members of the Club to step up and donate to support the long-standing tradition of the Club of sending its Lucia to Sweden. A number of sponsorship levels are available:

Sponsorship Level $500 - Speaker of the Riksdag $300 - Prime Minister $150 - Deputy Prime Minister $75 - Cabinet Minister $50 - Governor $30 - County Councilor $15 - Municipal Commissioner

Please don't delay, send in your renewal check today!!

Family $35
Individual $25
Student / Au pair $10 (fall-spring)

Make check payable to: The Swedish Club of Houston

Click here to fill out an online renewal form.

The Swedish Club of Houston has maintained a Swedish Language School for many years. It is the only source of Swedish language instruction in southeast Texas. Unfortunately the school was forced to suspend operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but it is currently in the process of starting back up.

As student enrollment demands, the school offers classes at several levels. Instruction is by native speakers of Swedish, and the approach emphasizes a conversational approach since most persons wishing to learn Swedish want to be able to speak it when visiting Sweden.

Classes meet one evening a week, on Tuesdays, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at Bellaire United Methodist Church, 4417 Bellaire Blvd, Bellaire. The cost is modest, and varies according to the cost of materials, which come from Sweden. The school operates on a 15-week semester basis, with the first semester running from October to January, and the second from January to May. Click here to register!

Are you aware of any "life" events that a member or friend of the Club may be experiencing (i.e. illness, birth, marriage, death, etc.)? If so, be sure to send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so that we can send an acknowledgement!

Question: What do the following all have in common?

• I Was Prepared, by Justin Case
• The Numbers Game, by Cal Q. Later
• Deep in Debt, by Owen A. Lott
• Favorite Swedish Recipes, by the Swedish Club of Houston

Answer: They are all books that were never written! Of course, there is ample reason why the first three were never written... but there's only one reason why the last one wasn't: we don't have enough of your favorite Swedish recipes!

Send your favorites to Karen Wolz!