five o'clock on Christmas
It was as well , perhaps , that he did not say it , for Börje would surely have thought Jan had gone out of his mind . CHRISTMAS MORN Christmas morning Jan took the little girl along with him to church ; she was then just one year and four months old . Katrina thought the girl rather young to attend church and feared she would set up a howl , as she had done at the vaccination bee ; but inasmuch as it was the custom to take the little ones along to Christmas Matins , Jan had his own way . So at five o'clock on Christmas Morn they all set out . It was pitch dark and cloudy , but not cold ; in fact the air was almost balmy , and quite still , as it usually is toward the end of December . Before coming to an open highway , they had to walk along a narrow winding path , through fields and groves in the Ashdales , then take the steep winter-road across Snipa Ridge . The big farmhouse at Falla , with lighted candles at every window , stood out as a beacon to the Ruffluck folk , so that they were able to find their way to Börje 's hut ; there they met some of their neighbours , bearing torches they had prepared on Christmas Eve .