scandinavian roots

in celebration of my scandinavian roots (mostly swedish, some norwegian),

happy saint lucia day!

today, december the thirteenth, is observed in sweden (and in other parts of the world) as saint lucia day. it is a day to honor the martyred christian woman, saint lucia. today it is celebrated as the daughter (often eldest) dresses up as saint lucia in a white gown with red ribbons and a lingonberry wreath with candles. she brings a breakfast of hot coffee and/or glögg and pastries to the family in the early morning. on another note, according to folklore, unmarried girls believed that saint lucia would tell them who their future husband would be on her honored day (not quite sure i'd believe this one...).

this past friday, in honor of the holiday, a couple of friends and i visited a winery just outside of town that was celebrating with free glögg and swedish cookies and pastries. i was quite jealous of the chosen lucia, but i did get my very own "halo" and a lovely handmade ornament.

pictures to come...

more history on the day can be read here.