Traditions

Traditions are a fun way to continue family connections.  It’s a way to experience your heritage and keep it alive.  Part of my heritage is Norwegian and Swedish.  When our daughter was little, my mom suggested that celebrate St. Lucia Day (commonly know as St. Lucy).  Here’s what it’s all about!

“Saint Lucy’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day celebrated on 13 December in Advent, commemorating Saint Lucy, who according to legend brought “food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs” using a candle-lit wreath to “light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible”.^[1] Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a Christian festival of light.”

We dressed our little angel up in a white robe with a red sash, the traditional costume for St. Lucy.  She carried cardamom buns in her basket for about 2 minutes until she decided she’d had enough.  Then she and her brothers would sit on the stairs and eat them.  I love thinking back to those days when Christmas was magical.  The anticipation of the big guy coming down the chimney was almost more than they could handle.  The twinkle in their eyes when they came down the stairs in the morning and saw that Santa had eaten a couple cookies and the carrots we left for the reindeer were all gone.

Christmas is still magical, but in a different way.  With our children becoming adults, it’s not so much about Santa and more about family.  I know the day is coming where I will have to share them on this day.  Nothing really stays the same.  It’s ever changing.  Keep up the old traditions, and create new ones.  Staying connected to family…

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens.  I know you have that cookbook!  It is a recipe for a Cardamom Braid, (which I also love to make), but for this I bake 12 small braids.

Enjoy!