Sankta Lucia

Many, many years ago I spent a bit of time as a missionary in Sweden. It’s mostly a frostbitten memory now (I haven’t had feeling in my toes for 16 years), but there are a couple of things I remember with fondness. One of them is the annual celebration of Sankta Lucia. Lucia was an early Christian saint that had a reputation for charity, good works and purity in ancient Rome. She was martyred, of course, and is now venerated in Scandinavia for bringing light at the darkest time of the year. All over Sweden young women dress up in white dresses, put candles on their heads (real or electric) and process into a crowd of singing onlookers. It’s a pretty cool holiday, especially if you have ever experienced a Scandinavian winter. By December, you are definitely ready for a bit of light. Bring it on, Lucia, bring it on.

A friend of mine from work who lived in Moscow for many years and worked with a lot of Swedes, also loves a good Lucia celebration. We decided to get a few people together to keep the tradition alive. I baked for days. I went to IKEA more times that I would like to admit to procure the appropriate Lucia supplies. There were pepparkakor (Swedish ginger cookies that appear at every Swedish holiday celebration) there was glogg, a special Swedish holiday brew into which you place rasins and almonds. I went with the alcohol free version, but most Swedes prefer the adult kind. I also embarked on a festival of Swedish meatballs. I have been chasing the perfect Swedish meatball recipe for years, and I have had my friend Amy mail me the same recipe at least three times. I have finally placed a copy into my e-mail, so that I can easily access, as I have a habit of losing it. Making Swedish meatballs is a lot of work, especially in a land that doesn’t really have a palate for ground beef. I went to three stores looking for it, but I finally found it. I multiplied the meatball recipe by 5 and I was literally up to my elbows in meatball goo. Undaunted, I crafted 120 or so of the finest meatballs ever eaten. Ever had an IKEA meatball? Sawdust compared to mine. Not to brag. It just happens to be true.

I crowded 12 or so friends into my apartment in order to celebrate. I collected a group who either knew what Lucia was, had been to Sweden, had the potential to sing well in Swedish or any combination thereof. I had a friend’s daughter serve as our Lucia. She was on her second party of the day by the time Lucia rolled around, and it looked a little sketchy for a while as to whether or not she would don the costume and let us sing. She was finally coaxed into coming out and we hustled to break out the music and the lyrics. There was light, there were boys dressed as gingerbread men, there was Swedish singing, there was hot chocolate made out of Nutella; all in all, people ate too much and had a great night. My friend and I are already planning for next year…next time I’ll get help making the meatballs.