Today is Saint Lucia's Day, a much beloved day in Sweden. It's the darkest day of the year, which means that once it's passed, it gets lighter. So Lucia is the bringer of light.
We celebrate this by having a Lucia procession - it's usually in all schools and pre-schools, and there are often performances in larger workplaces as well as in some shopping malls and of course, at Skansen. (Read more about this fairly peculiar custom on Wikipedia.) Our pre-school has a procession this afternoon, and Titus is super excited to be a santa. He's been practising his songs for weeks. And they've baked buns for all the parents! Here are some of my recipes:
Traditional plain Lucia Buns
Saffron buns with Almonds
Almond-filled Saffron buns
Saffron buns with white chocolate
God St. Lucia dag!
ReplyDeleteI was going to make some lussekatter today, but because of a busy work schedule and thus not enough time, I didn't get the chance to!
I'm from Norway, but live in Glasgow, so I thought I would bring the tradition to the UK. Whenever I saw you mentioning that they get a little dry unless you eat them on the same day though, I thought that I should save it for maybe next year, as there would be way too many lussekatter for my boyfriend and me without being able to bring some in with me to work.
It sounds like your son has quite a big day ahead of him! I remember the Lucia parades we had at primary school, it was always so nice and christmassy! :D And thanks for actually explaining the Sainthood, I actually never knew! They just told us that it was St. Lucia day, and taught us the song :)
Anne-
ReplyDeleteI hope Titus had a fun day playing Santa:)
I had my first St Lucia bun today (from a bakery I confess) and liked it! Next year, if our house is done, I will try to bake my own-from your recipe - but if not, it will be back to the bakery to buy more!
Blessings,
Aimee
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment on Twitter about the soft gingerbread. I found this recipe several years ago, and think that it is quite addictive and delicious. I don't remember whether I made any changes in the original recipe or not.
Sincerely, Eileen from Western New York PS I greatly appreciated your identifying all of the lovely treats in the picture from the buffet.
Mjuk Pepparkaka
8 inch pan 350 degrees or less
Cream:
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
Beat in seperately:
2 eggs
Mix in:
1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c lingonberry jam
Fold in:
1 1/4 c flour, mixed with
1 tablesp cinnamon
1/4 teas clove
1 teas ginger
2 teas cardamom
2 teas baking powder
Pour into buttered/floured/crumbed pan and bake slow in lower oven until toothpick indicates it's done.
I just heard from a cousin in Finland that a Julia Hanhikoski was elected to Lucia for Finland and the ceremony was in Helsinki on the 13th of December. After some more research, I will know for sure if she is related to me by half -cousins. Interesting to find out.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas from Oregon, UA
I just found out from a cousin in Jakobstab, Finland that a young lady, Julia Hanhikoski from Karleby, Finland was elected to Lucia and ceremony was in Helsinki on the 13th where she got her crown (if I understood him correctly)She may be a half cousin of mine. We are doing more research now. Merry Christmas from Oregon, USA...Kay
ReplyDelete