HOLIDAY FOOD FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Celebrating the people and dishes contributing to our community table
Celebrating the people and dishes contributing to our community table
Waterloo Region is a far cry from what it was 200 years ago, but one thing remains constant: from the indigenous community to those who’ve chosen to make this place home, our kitchens are steeped with memories and traditions.
Today, many of us come from all four corners of the world — almost half are firstor second-generation Canadian, and close to one-quarter are immigrants. We bring with us memories of the places and people we’ve left behind and the people we’ve met.
In a series of articles, I will explore the people and the dishes that contribute to our community table, beginning with this look at holiday food traditions in Sweden, Israel and Japan.
SWEDEN: SAINT LUCIA’S DAY
Afestival of light breaks Sweden’s long, dark winter on Dec. 13 and celebrates Saint Lucia. While her feast day is observed around the world, “The Swedish Festival of Lights” mixes ancient Jól (Yule) festivities with Christian motifs.
Jól was an important pre-Christian Scandinavian solstice festival meant to rouse the sun and chase away the darkness. To stop supernatural beings from causing mischief on the longest night of the year in the old Julian Calendar, bonfires were lit, mummers performed, and young people would carol door-to-door. Carollers and mummers received lussekatter (saffron buns, recipe follows) because it was believed their sunshine colour would scare away a malevolent spirit named Lusse or Lussi, or they were offered in exchange for her mercy.
The festivities also included feasting, drinking and gift-giving.
Christian missionaries brought tales of Lucia of Syracuse to Viking Age Sweden, and soon references to the young woman who wore a candlelit wreath on her head as she took food to Christians hiding in the catacombs became part of Jól. While distinct Lucia celebrations were first held in the mid-18th century, modern festivities took root about 100 years ago.
Today on Dec. 13th, the eldest daughter gets up early and dresses as Lucia in a white robe tied with a red sash and a wreath-like crown adorned with lit candles. She wakes her family by singing the Lucia Song and serves a breakfast of coffee, lussekatter and pepparakakor (gingernut cookies). Each community also has a designated Lucia who leads a procession of handmaidens and star boys to visit schools, seniors’ homes and churches to sing and hand out treats.
Buns and yeasted cakes spiced with cardamom or cinnamon are popular throughout the year but, in December, lussekatter are part of the holiday baking. Made from coiled or knotted ropes of dough, these saffron buns are shaped to represent various animals, objects and people.