Imagine an early Christian saint from Sicily becoming a major holiday figure for Scandinavians. Yes, folks, somehow or other--that happened. She was known for bringing food to those in need with a wreath of candles to light her way (her hands were full--of course). Through some gruesome twists and turns of her personal hisory she also became the patron saint of eyes ( I will not go into detail here). The fact that Swedish sailors translated her name 'Lucia' as light and that her celebrated day happened to fall on the darkest day of the year certainly helped this unlikely connection along, still I find it a surprising one. Nonetheless, here we are, in the US, with my 1/4 Norwiegan (0% Sicilian) daughter playing the part of Lucia. She pulled it off beautifully.
Saint Lucia Day was one of my favorite holiday activities this year. It will likely make its way into our holiday celebrations every year for at least the next decade. It all started because I wanted to do something special with Nova. (As I recall, I was a bit worried she was suffereing from middle child syndrome at the time).
We checked out the Kirsten's Surprise, the American Girl book featuring the Swedish tradition of Saint Lucia Day. After reading the story, I was careful not to suggest anything. Sure enough, Nova came to me, hoping we pull off our own Saint Lucia day surprise. From there, we managed to sneak in a trip to the florists to get greens for the crown and a specal trip to Penzey's to buy saffron for the traditional saffron buns. I'd let my mom in on the plan a week earlier and she had graciously offered to whip up a white nightgown and red sash. Under the guize of wrapping presents, we were able to get the cosume ready.
Following the recipe listed here, we made quite successful gluten-free saffron buns, substituting gluten-free flour for the wheat flour. I got them started and woke Nova up to help with the final shaping and baking.
Hot chocolate and coffee rounded out our breakfast. Charles and Solomon did not suspect a thing.
I had forgotten how nice a good surprise can be...both to get and to give. And a last picture with that golden sunlight of early morning.
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