Julgask

Last weekend a really good friend of my visit me in Uppsala. And to give her the optimal Swedish student experience we went to a Christmas gasque, or as they would say in Swedish; Julgask, at one of the thirteen nations here in Uppsala.

A gasque is a traditional Uppsalian student dinner. A very important thing at a gasque is the dresscode; men will wear a suit and women will wear a formal dress. The evening begins with a pre-dinner drink, which in this cause was glühwein because we were at a Christmas gasque. After the pre-drink you will move on to the tables and find your seat. The seats are usually arranged boy/girl/boy/girl. The idea of a gasque is that you will get to meet a whole bunch of new people and that in the presence of good food and drink you will make a lot of new friends!

During the evening you will sing a number of songs, and after singing, you will toast with the people around you with the well known snaps. Also the toast has a special order and after toasting you will say ‘skål’, which means cheers in Swedish. And after all the singing, eating and drinking, you will move on to the after party!