Norene, Doug and I would all like to wish our wonderful relatives and friends around the globe a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It's been a hectic couple of weeks for all of us. Norene has had an infection that has been bothersome and she has had to have extra doctor appointments for, the weather in Beloit has been bothersome for Doug not only with extra snow but icy streets as well, I have been busy finishing projects for Christmas, and Riana and I have been enjoying the Christmas parties for mentally, physically and emotionally disabled adults and children at Courage Center where we volunteer each week.
We missed celebrating Lucia Day (December 13th) this year for the first time in 10 years.
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| Lucia Service at the oldest Lutheran Church in Minnesota in 2012 |
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| The Altar |
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| The church has no electricity, is lit by candles, and warmed by body heat |
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| Riana as Lucia at Gammelgarden in 2012 |
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| 'Lussekatts' |
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| Riana about 6, serving in the morning before going to school |
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| Wonder if she is praying that her hair doesn't catch fire! |
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| Lucia Day is the first day of Christmas, saffron rolls, ginger cookies, and love |
For more information about how Christmas is celebrated in Sweden, you can find it here.
Along the left side, you can find links to information on how Christmas is celebrated around the world.
Many of my family will gather here on Christmas Eve, and we will have a traditional Christmas Eve dinner consisting of Lutfisk, Swedish Potato Sausage, Swedish Meatballs, potatoes, rutmos (mashed rutebages), pickled herring, beets, and my favorite -- saffron rolls. We will end our evening with rice pudding and lingonberries, and platters of Christmas cookies and fruitcake. One lucky person will get an almond in their rice pudding and an extra Christmas present along with good luck in the coming year.
I'm ending this post with a Swedish photo from a relative of my mother's. She stated that she often doesn't notice the beauty of the view from her bedroom window since she sees it every day. Winter in Sweden looks a lot like the winter views in Upper Michigan and in Minnesota where I live.
And another one of our younger relatives and her cat on the Lundwall side
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| Anna, and Linus the cat, daughter of Lisbeth Martinsson from Falun, Dalarna, Swedem |
Have a wonderful and joyous Christmas! God Jul!
I was reading this to Paul about your Christmas celebration dinner and he was like, I am so glad that I didn't have to eat any of that stuff...LOL
ReplyDeleteI think it was awesome that they way you still carry on the tradition that has been passed down for years.
Grinning here -- for us, it wouldn't be Christmas without it. It helps that both sides of my family were Swedish and kept up the same Swedish traditions. Also saves on menu planning -- it's the same every year. Hope your Christmas celebrations were awesome!
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