Joybells are ringing, Christmas is bringing

Author: Nils Frykman

Born: October 20, 1842, Sunne, Värmland, Sweden (birth name: Nils Larsson). Died: March 30, 1911, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Buried: Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nils took the name Frykman after the region where he grew up, Fryksdalen. In 1868, he graduated from teachers’ college in Karlstad, and went on to teach in Grums, Norrköping, and Sunne. He preached in the church in Sunne, and around that time began to write hymns. Eventually, his texts were printed in the magazine Sanningsvittnet. However, Frykman’s work was not sanctioned by Sweden’s state church, and almost led to the loss of his job as a teacher. Eventually he did resign his position over a controversy about his children’s baptism by an independent prea… Go to person page >

Translator: E. Gustav Johnson

Born: May 21, 1893, Väse Vämland, Sweden. Died: November 13, 1974, Miami, Florida. Johnson’s family emigrated to America when he was 10 years old, settling in Hartford, Connecticut. He learned the craft of a printer, but at age 30 took up studies at North Park, Chicago, Illinois, where he earned degrees at the academy, college, and seminary. He went on to graduate from the University of Chicago and Duke University. He started teaching English and Swedish at North Park in 1931, staying there three decades. He also found time to edit the Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly. His works include: The Swedish Element in America, 1933 (co-editor) Translation of C. J. Nyvall’s Travel Memories from America, 1876 Translatio… Go to person page >