Scandinavia House

HOLIDAY JULBORD 2025 AT BJÖRK
2025-12-13 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-12-13 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-12-13 19:00 - 20:00, 2025-12-14 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-12-14 15:00 - 16:00, 2025-12-14 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Björk Cafe & Bistro at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Join us at Scandinavia House on December 13 & 14 for a Holiday Julbord (Christmas Table) presented by Björk Cafe & Bistro! A traditional Christmas in Scandinavia is not complete without the traditional julbord, a holiday variation of the quintessential Smörgåsbord buffet-style meal in the Scandinavian countries that includes multiple staples of Swedish cuisine served on the table. The actual Christmas season in Sweden usually begins with the St. Lucia ceremony, around the 13th of December, and leads all the way to Christmas day.
ASF Members received their discount code by email; please check your email for instructions on booking with the discount or contact mem@amscan.org.*
The Björk Julbord will feature a long buffet table overloaded with the Scandinavian classics such as herring, gravlax, meatballs, Jansson’s temptations and more; each lunch and dinner seating will be accompanied by a traditional St. Lucia performance. One cup of glögg is included and will be served upon arrival, with additional non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks available for purchase. Beverages can be pre-ordered at checkout for a 25-percent discount.
All seatings on December 13, as well as the lunch seating on December 14, are accompanied by Lucia performances with members of the Swedish community in New York. Dinner seatings on December 14 will be coordinated alongside our Annual Holiday Concert at 5 PM. Learn more about the Holiday Concert and purchase tickets here.
There will also be a prix-fixe menu alongside an earlier Holiday Concert on December 7.
Space is limited, so purchase tickets to reserve your table right away!
RESERVATIONS
Seating times:
Saturday, December 13
Lunch Seating: 1 PM, $135 ($114.75 ASF Members)
Early Dinner Seating: 4 PM, $135 ($114.75 ASF Members)
Dinner Seating: 7 PM, $135 ($114.75 ASF Members)
Sunday, December 14
Lunch Seating: 12 PM, $135 ($114.75 ASF Members)
Early Dinner Seating: 3 PM, $99 ($84.15 ASF Members), no Lucia performance
Dinner Seating: 6 PM, $99 ($84.15 ASF Members), no Lucia performance
Youth & Children Pricing
Teens (ages 10–16): $50 ($42.50 ASF Members)
Children (up to age 10): $25 ($21.25 ASF Members)
For more information on pricing and to purchase tickets, click here.

SOLD OUT: HOLIDAY CONCERT
2025-12-14 17:00 - 18:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
*This event is now sold out.*
This December, Scandinavia House presents a festive in-person concert featuring Scandinavian and American holiday favorites as well as a traditional Saint Lucia procession, replete with traditional gowns and glowing candles! Due to popular demand, this year will feature two performances on Sundays December 7 & 14.
Learn about the history of Lucia, one of the most popular holidays in Sweden, while enjoying music from members of the Swedish community in New York, led by Ingrid Kullberg-Bendz. Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance online.

GALLERY TOURS | A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
2025-12-17 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-01-07 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-01-14 17:30 - 18:00, 2026-01-28 17:30 - 18:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
On view from October 18, 2025 to February 14, 2026 at Scandinavia House, A Time for Everything, a group exhibition of internationally acclaimed Nordic artists — all of whom have presented work in the Scandinavia House Galleries over the past 25 years — will underscore the vision of the Scandinavia House Galleries as a steward for new and established Nordic voices in the contemporary artistic landscape, and for promoting the exchange of ideas and culture between the United States and Nordic region.
In this guided tour by Eve O’Shea, ASF’s Exhibitions and Cultural Programs Assistant and assistant curator of the exhibition, learn about the artists in this exhibition and their works.
These free, 35-minute public tours meet in the Gallery elevator lobby. Gallery tours are subject to change; please check with the Scandinavia House front desk or email info@amscan.org.
Register

CHILDREN'S CENTER HOLIDAY CLOSURE
2025-12-24 08:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-26 08:00 - 21:00, 2025-12-27 08:00 - 17:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
The Children’s Center at Scandinavia House will be closed for the holidays from Wednesday, December 24 through Saturday, December 27, 2025.
See you after the holidays!

HOLIDAY CLOSURE
2025-12-25 08:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Scandinavia House will be closed on Thursday, December 25 for Christmas Day. This includes Björk Café and Bistro, the Shop at Scandinavia House, the Galleries, Children’s Center and Offices at Scandinavia House.
The restaurant, shop, and the Galleries will reopen with normal hours on Friday, December 26. The Children’s Center will also be closed on Friday, December 26, and will reopen with normal hours on Saturday, December 27.
See you after the holiday!

CHILDREN'S CENTER HOLIDAY CLOSURE
2025-12-31 08:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-02 08:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
The Children’s Center at Scandinavia House will be closed from Wednesday, December 31 through Friday, January 2 for the holiday. We will reopen with normal hours on Saturday, January 3.
Happy New Year!

HOLIDAY CLOSURE
2026-01-01 08:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Scandinavia House will be closed on Thursday, January 1 for New Year’s Day. This includes Björk Café and Bistro, the Children’s Center, the Shop at Scandinavia House, and Offices at Scandinavia House. We will reopen with normal hours for all spaces, including the Children’s Center and Galleries, on Friday, January 2.
Happy New Year!

KON TIKI
2026-01-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
“Seaworthy, and then some” —on January 7, see Kon Tiki and help bring our Silver Anniversary Rescreens into 2026! Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, this epic adventure film dramatizes Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl’s real-life 1947 expedition across the Pacific on a balsawood raft.
Norway’s most expensive production to date, Kon Tiki (Norway, 2013) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards, and was screened here at Scandinavia House as a part of our Nordic Oscar Contenders in 2013. Now, for our 25th anniversary, we return to Heyerdahl’s (Pål Sverre Hagen) epic gambit to prove that South Americans had settled in the Polynesian islands, a theory that remains a matter of debate, and to retrace their steps using only the resources available to potential pre-Columbian settlers.
Though he himself cannot swim or sail, he sets out on the treacherous 4,300-nautical-mile journey across the Pacific from Peru to Polynesia aboard the small raft– the Kon Tiki, named after the Inca sun god –along with his crew of five men (and a macaw named Lorita). Kon Tiki takes us through the exploits of Heyerdahl and the embattled crew as they embark on their three-month sail equipped with only a radio– facing down tidal waves, sharks, and demons of the deep.
“A ravishingly photographed, old-fashioned man-against-the-elements epic propelled by human-scaled heroics.” (RogerEbert.com)
“A rousing and thoroughly enjoyable Old Hollywood-style adventure…” (NPR)
Purchase tickets
This program has been supported by the Monika and Charles Heimbold Fund for Exhibitions and Programs.

PASTEL CHALK ON PAPER
2026-01-08 17:30 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
This series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite pencil, and ink. Participants will explore the unique characteristics of various tools and surfaces, learning simple techniques to get started and discover inspiration—whether drawn from the inner world or the world around us. The focus is on the process of making: approaching art as a meditative, exploratory practice. Together, we’ll experiment, play, and pay close attention to what unfolds on the page, moment by moment. There are no expectations for finished pieces or specific outcomes —the class itself is the experience and the goal. Each session will close with a supportive group reflection, where we’ll share and appreciate each other’s progress, process, and discoveries.
In this course, students will explore and experiment with using various pastel chalks on paper.
The series can be experienced as a complete progression or as individual, standalone classes. Participation is limited to 12 students.
Purchase Tickets

YOUR FIRST KNITTING PROJECT | LEARN TO KNIT WITH HILARY SNELL
2026-01-10 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-17 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-24 12:00 - 14:00, 2026-01-31 12:00 - 14:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Now that you’ve learned the basics of knitting – or you want to hone your skills – you are invited to join us for a weekly knitting group in January. You’ll choose from three simple patterns, choose and buy your own yarn, needles, and notions, and we’ll get started on the first day!
Join a small group to make something from start to finish, with guidance and feedback from experienced knitter Hilary Snell. Enjoy stretching your brain with a new skill while engaging in the social bonding that only crafts can provide. Plus, there will be snacks! Class size is limited to 12 people.
Before arriving for class, please choose and purchase the according materials for your respective project. (Projects are pictured on banner image) PLEASE NOTE: Students will receive 10% off their purchase at Knitty City (208 West 79th Street) upon showing their Scandinavia House class receipt.
Wrist warmers: Chunky wool yarn – 110 yards. Color(s) of your choice. US size 11 straight needles.
Chunky hat: Approximately 100 yards of any chunky wool yarn. Color(s) of your choice. US size 10 circular needle 16 inches long (from tip to tip) and 4 double pointed bamboo needles US size 10.
Washcloth: Any DK weight cotton yarn. US size 4 straight needles.
PS. Chunky yarn is also called bulky yarn!
Students should also bring a tapestry needle, scissors and some kind of bag to carry their project back and forth from home.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Hilary Snell, a longtime visitor services staff member of Scandinavia House, is of English, Scottish, and Irish descent, and loves everything about Nordic culture. She was taught to knit by her grandmother and mother when she was eight years old and took it up again in her late 20s, and has been knitting ever since. She enjoys sharing her love of the craft and of fiber arts in general. See her work at: https://www.instagram.com/lockwoodknits/
Purchase tickets

NORDIC BOOK CLUB ONLINE | THE SISTERS
2026-01-13 18:00 - 19:00
Read and discuss literature with our Nordic Book Club Online! Nordic Book Club meets monthly via Zoom to discuss contemporary literature in translation. On January 13, 2026, we’ll be discussing Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s addictively entertaining family saga The Sisters.
Meet the Mikkola sisters: Ina, Evelyn, and Anastasia. Their mother is a Tunisian carpet seller, their father a mysterious Swede who left them when they were young. Ina is tall, serious, a compulsive organizer. Evelyn is dreamy, magnetic, a smooth talker. And Anastasia is moody, chaotic, a shape-shifting presence, quick to anger.
Ina meets her future husband when she’s dragged to a New Year’s rave by her sisters, only to suffer the ultimate betrayal. Evelyn drifts through life before embarking on a wild career as an actress. And Anastasia runs off to Tunisia, where she falls in love with a woman who, years later, will transform her life.
Following the sisters from afar is Jonas, the son of a Swedish mother and a Tunisian father. Over the course of three decades, his life intersects with the sisters, from a chance encounter in Tunis to the scene of a fighter jet crash in Stockholm. When Evelyn disappears on a trip to New York, Jonas manages to track her down—and helps her to break the curse that has been looming over the Mikkolas for decades. In the process, a shocking revelation changes everything about who they think they are.
Narrated in six parts, each spanning a period ranging from a year to a day to a single minute, Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s The Sisters is a big, vivid family story of the highest order—an tour de force that has been longlisted for prizes including the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

The Sisters is available in hardcover, paperback, e-book and digital audio.
Register

WATER-BASED PAINTING
2026-01-15 17:30 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
This series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite pencil, and ink. Participants will explore the unique characteristics of various tools and surfaces, learning simple techniques to get started and discover inspiration—whether drawn from the inner world or the world around us. The focus is on the process of making: approaching art as a meditative, exploratory practice. Together, we’ll experiment, play, and pay close attention to what unfolds on the page, moment by moment. There are no expectations for finished pieces or specific outcomes —the class itself is the experience and the goal. Each session will close with a supportive group reflection, where we’ll share and appreciate each other’s progress, process, and discoveries.
In this course, students will explore and experiment with water-based colored paint and water using brushes on paper.
The series can be experienced as a complete progression or as individual, standalone classes. Participation is limited to 12 students.
Purchase Tickets

SAUNA LOST IN TRANSLATION: RESTORING FINNISHNESS TO A GLOBAL TRADITION
2026-01-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Join us on January 20 for a talk with Finlandia Foundation’s Lecturer of the Year Eero Kilpi on advancing sauna culture and Finnish tradition in North America and beyond!
Kilpi’s lecture, “Sauna Lost in Translation: Restoring Finnishness to a Global Tradition,” traces the evolution of global sweat bathing cultures—from Lakota sweat lodges to early Nordic sauna—and examines how Finnish traditions can reclaim their central role in today’s rapidly expanding sauna movement.
Drawing on two decades of work with the North American Sauna Society, Eero unpacks what happened when the ancient Finnish practice arrived in North America and morphed into what he calls the “hotbox phenomenon.” He explains how a wellness trend focused on heat, hardware, and health fads often stripped sauna of its spirit, ritual, and deeper mental-emotional benefits.
With humor, clarity, and lived experience as a Finn who has spent more than half his life in North America, Eero offers “hot takes” on where sauna culture went astray—and how returning to traditional principles can restore its meaning. He argues that when we root the practice in its cultural and spiritual foundations, everyone can experience the most authentic and profoundly restorative sauna possible.
Register

GRAPHITE ON PAPER
2026-01-22 17:30 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
This series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite pencil, and ink. Participants will explore the unique characteristics of various tools and surfaces, learning simple techniques to get started and discover inspiration—whether drawn from the inner world or the world around us. The focus is on the process of making: approaching art as a meditative, exploratory practice. Together, we’ll experiment, play, and pay close attention to what unfolds on the page, moment by moment. There are no expectations for finished pieces or specific outcomes —the class itself is the experience and the goal. Each session will close with a supportive group reflection, where we’ll share and appreciate each other’s progress, process, and discoveries.
In this course, students will explore and experiment with using graphite pencils on paper.
The series can be experienced as a complete progression or as individual, standalone classes. Participation is limited to 12 students.
Purchase Tickets

INK AND WATER
2026-01-29 17:30 - 20:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
This series offers a gentle introduction to the tactile qualities of materials such as paper, pastel, paint, graphite pencil, and ink. Participants will explore the unique characteristics of various tools and surfaces, learning simple techniques to get started and discover inspiration—whether drawn from the inner world or the world around us. The focus is on the process of making: approaching art as a meditative, exploratory practice. Together, we’ll experiment, play, and pay close attention to what unfolds on the page, moment by moment. There are no expectations for finished pieces or specific outcomes —the class itself is the experience and the goal. Each session will close with a supportive group reflection, where we’ll share and appreciate each other’s progress, process, and discoveries.
In this course, students will explore and experiment with using ink and water on paper across various techniques.
The series can be experienced as a complete progression or as individual, standalone classes. Participation is limited to 12 students.
Purchase Tickets

KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS® | BEETHOVEN — THE YOUNG GENIUS
2026-02-03 19:30 - 21:00 | Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States
Internationally acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Siegel returns this fall for his ever-popular Keyboard Conversations® series at Scandinavia House. Each evening comprises an informal commentary on the music and its composers, a full performance of each work, and a short Q & A session. The engaging format both makes friends of classical music and enriches the listening experience for avid music lovers.
In tonight’s performance, celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s early period with the passionate Sonata “Pathétique,” the high-spirited “Rage Over a Lost Penny,” the deeply moving Largo e mesto from Sonata Op. 10, No. 3, and the exhilarating Finale of Sonata Op. 31, No. 3.

Thanks to a generous loan by Victor Borge’s grandson Finn, concerts will be performed on Victor Borge’s personal Steinway piano.
