Happy Lucia Day! Happy Lucia Day! Happy Lucia Day! Happy Lucia Day! Happy Lucia Day! Happy Lucia Day!




I found a video on YouTube, where you can watch a snippet from a typical Sankta Lucia ceremony and you will see that to actually be there is a surreal and very moving experience. The lights are turned down, then a procession of women, one wearing a crown of lit candles slowly enters the darkened room, singing beautiful Lucia and Christmas songs.

Early this morning, while it was still dark, I made up a Lucia tray, consisting of fresh, warm lussekatter (Lucia buns), freshly brewed coffee, glögg and candles. This I carried in to the bedroom and served to Lars-Göran, while singing Sankta Lucia.




He was kind enough not to laugh at my pathetic singing, so I let him eat the goodies rather than wear them *grin* This evening we will watch the Lucia procession go along the main street, then head to the boat club, which has been the traditional last port of call for Nynäshamn's Lucia. Here we will snack on buns, gingerbread and glögg with friends and wait for Lucia and her helpers to come and sing a selection of Christmas songs.

I have finally learned to say "Lucia" in the Swedish way. Because I spent many years with Italians, I tended to say it as "Loo-chee-ah", whereas they pronounce it as "Loose-ee-ah", a bit like moose-ia. And speaking of moose, I have to share this lovely story with you, sent to me by my friend Kat, another Aussie married to a viking, though hers is Norwegian.




When this little moose was young, he lost his mother. So the rangers at the Canadian Fish and Game Ministry brought him to a couple who live in rural Newfoundland. This couple, Debbie and Wendall were to raise the calf to a safe age after which he would be turned loose back to the wild. We have similar schemes set up in Australia in order to foster sick and orphaned wildlife. Anyway, they bottle-fed and took care of him and after a while, they fed him alongside their cows.




Last spring, when he turned one year old, it was time to return him to the wild. They opened the gate and off he went. He apparently stayed away for all of the summer, but in the autumn, he suddenly arrived back and settled in with the cows again. The family were all happy to see him as he is pretty friendly. He also has a very sweet tooth, loving honey buns which he will eat right out of the family's mouth.




Wendall and Debbie live right up in the mountains so in late autumn it came time to bring the cows down before the snows hit. They left the moose up in the mountains, Well, it appears that the moose was lonely up there all by himself, so he headed down and found another heard of cows to hang out with. The neighbours who owned the cows called a week later and asked Wendall to please come and get his Moose (now also called Wendall). So he headed out with a honey bun, a bucket of grain and the horse trailer and brought Wendall back to their home.




The moose is free to leave anytime he wants to, but he is choosing to stay put for now. Surely, come spring he will start to feel a bit like a male Moose and take off ... but, for now he is happy.




Isn't he beautiful? And he is even joining in the Christmas spirit, with his jolly santa hat. This is the sort of feel good Christmas story I like to see. Now I think I'm going to add "a moose" to my Christmas wish list. I wonder what tomte will think about that. And I wonder if moose like sailing?




Glad Lucia (Wishing you all a very happy Moose-ia day!)