I'm sorry I don't post as often these days. I don't know if you've ever heard this, but babies are SUPER time consuming!
One thing I always looked forward to when I was pregnant was starting holiday traditions as a family. And I knew right away I'd want to celebrate St. Lucia's Day. My family has Swedish roots (at this point, it's pretty diffuse, but we still do a semi authentic Swedish Christmas Eve). However I really didn't hear about this holiday until, of all things, I got a Kirsten doll from American Girl when I was 8. St. Lucia's Day celebrates the end of the darkest days of the year and the return of the light (they were working from an old calendar - we now know the darkest days of the year don't happen for another week). My mom and grandma indulged my obsession one year, and my sisters and I woke up, dressed ourselves in white gowns and head wreathes with fake candles, and served buns to our family, just like (we read) they do in Sweden. Kevin and I have also attended a St. Lucia's Day service at a church in Andersonville, the Swedish neighborhood in Chicago.
Although the oldest girl in every family plays the biggest role in St. Lucia's Day celebrations - wearing the white gown and the candle wreath and waking their families up with coffee and rolls - I learned that there is a part for little boys to play, too, as Lucia's attendants. They wear big white hats with stars on them (they look a lot like dunce caps) and carry a wand with a star on the end and are called "starboys."
So yesterday morning, on St. Lucia's Day, Andy and I woke up, baked cinnamon rolls, made coffee, got him into his special outfit, and woke Kevin up. We were lucky enough to have my mom here with us, too, so she also joined in the celebration! It was a little hard to get pictures of Andy in his outfit - especially once Molly stole his wand - but here are a few shots from the day.
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