Swedes party heartily

Andrew Edwards

Santa Claus? Check. Elves? Check. Vikings? Check.

Vikings, at least those in doll form, had their place Sunday at

the Swedish Christmas Fair in the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community

Center. The event, which added a Scandinavian twist to some of the

more familiar holiday icons, was put together by the Orange County

chapter of the Swedish Women’s Educational Assn.

A smorgasbord of Swedish handcrafts and Christmas foods, the event

also included a traditional Santa Lucia procession. Clad in a white

gown and crowned with a ring of electric candles, Alexandra Cunha,

16, of Costa Mesa, led a train of girls wearing similar outfits, two

mini-Santas and a collection of small boys called sjarngossar, who

wore pointed hats with shiny stars.

A chorus of women sang in Swedish as the procession made its way

around the community center’s banquet hall, and when Alexandra and

her followers made their way to the stage, they joined the chorus,

singing “Silent Night” and a collection of funny songs derived from

Swedish folklore.

Alexandra has been a part of the procession since she was 5, but

Sunday was her first time as Santa Lucia, the “Queen of Light.”

“It was a great accomplishment,” she said. “I was really honored.”

In Sweden, St. Lucia Day is traditionally celebrated on Dec. 13 of

each year. According to custom, the eldest daughter in each Swedish

family adorns herself in a white gown and candles and followed by her

siblings, serves her parents a breakfast of coffee and

saffron-flavored rolls.

“It’s an old tradition,” said Helena Gagne, president of the

Orange County chapter of the Swedish Women’s Educational Assn. “It

happens in every home, every school, every church.”

Santa Lucia was a Christian martyr who died in the 4th century.

How she become a part of Swedish tradition is a mystery.

“It’s just one of those things,” Gagne said. “Who knows how it got

there?”

The fair’s craft tables featured many Santa Lucia-themed

creations, as well as elfish dolls called tomtar, clogs known as

trasko and brightly painted dala horses made out of wood. At one

booth, people could pick up their own Viking helmet, or at least try

one on.

For the hungry, a Swedish Christmas meal that included ham,

meatballs and a potato and herring dish called Janson’s Temptation

was waiting for them. The repast could be washed down with a bottle

of junmust, a holiday soda, or a steaming cup of glogg, a spiced wine

served during the winter.

“It’s really like pulling a nice comforter over yourself in the

winter,” fair visitor Shari Fraser of Newport Beach said after trying

a cup.

Gagne’s group, which comprises only women who speak Swedish, has

held a Christmas fair annually in Costa Mesa for about 20 years, she

said. The fair is the group’s biggest fundraiser.

The group uses its funds to contribute to a Swedish-speaking

church in San Pedro and to support students at UC Irvine who go to

Sweden to study, Gagne said.

The fair is also a chance for Swedish expatriates in America to

relive traditions they grew to cherish in their homeland.

“I think people [come] here to find things they miss from home,”

said Ulrika Molin, a member of the event’s chorus.

* ANDREW EDWARDS is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.