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.
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