In Sweden, they have a celebration of St. Lucia on Dec 13th. The oldest daughter in the house dresses up in a white gown and a crown of candles and serves sweetbreads to other members of the house. As we all know, the solstice isn't until the 21st (about) but when things are as dark as they get in the far north, who can begrudge anyone jumping the gun (a little).
Anyway, the Swedes have a lovely Christmas Carol that has the advantage of being perfect for teaching children how to sing parts. It is called Jul, Jul Stralande Jul (Christmas, radiant Christmas) and it has become something of the official song of St. Lucia Day. Just beautiful.
My mother and sisters played the part. I can still smell my mother's cardamom coffee bread.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment