Decorating the tree. Norwegian and Swedish flags are a nod to our family’s dual heritage. My father descends from the seventeenth century Swedish knight Johan Palmström. There is a family legend that his son was banished to Norway due to a rumored affair with the queen, but the story was merely a scribble in a record book and there is no way to know for certain. The Norwegian flags were on the tree during the entire holiday season at the American Swedish Institute, but they are so small that no one noticed, or so my mother said.
The wardrobe is hallmarked “RAGD ’79.”