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Festival of light brightens Ridge

December 22, 2011 Denise Romano

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On December 13, Christ Church After School celebrated St. LuciaDay with plenty of Scandinavian treats.

It’s something we have been doing for over 10 years, explainedVictoria Hofmo, president of the Scandinavian East Coast Museum,which co-sponsored the event. We have been doing it at ChristChurch for the past three years.

The celebration at the Ridge Boulevard center included the St.Lucia procession, in which young women wear long white robes with ared sash and a wreath of candles on their head. They carry a trayof coffee and saffron buns, as per the Swedish custom. Boys dressedas little gnomes carry candles, also a tradition.

Kids made Scandinavian cookies, called krumkake, which arecone-shaped and flavored with cardamom. They also made two craftprojects. One was a tonte, which is a Swedish Christmas elf. Theother was a traditional Scandinavian Christmas tree ornament – aheart-shaped paper basket.

Hofmo said that people of all ages enjoyed the celebration. Wehad some young mothers with their children, as well as seniorcitizens, she said. It was very nice and everyone had a goodtime.