Crown your family’s St. Lucia on December 13 and celebrate the holiday season with a Swedish tradition.
1. In Sweden, the Christmas season begins with Saint Lucia Day on December 13. St. Lucia (St. Lucy of Sicily) is the patron saint of light, known for bringing food during famine. On this dark winter morning, the oldest girls in their families dress in white robes with red belts. They wear wreaths of lingonberry (an evergreen bush that grows in Scandinavia, symbolizing new life) with candles atop them. Singing carols, the St. Lucias serve sweet buns and coffee to their families.
2. Create your own make-believe St. Lucia crown. Use scissors to cut out the center of a sturdy paper plate to fit like a wreath on your head. Wrap green tissue paper around the plate. Attach with glue. Dry.
3. Gently draw on the tissue paper with markers to make the paper look like evergreen branches. Decorate with ribbon and glue. Dry.
4. To make pretend candles for the wreath, fold round, white coffee filters in half twice. Run a line of glue along one edge. Tightly roll the other edge toward the glued edge to make a thin cone shape. Dry.
5. Color the points of these imaginary candles with markers. Spray with water to blend colors. Add sparkle with glitter glue. Dry.
6. Make a slit at the bottom of each imitation candle. Bend ends apart to form a base and glue to wreath. Dry. Wear your imaginary wreath for a happy Little Yule!
|
|
|
|
|
Ingredients:
10 whole cloves
7 cardamom pods, crushed 2 cinnamon sticks 1/2″ piece ginger root 2 cups water 10 whole almonds, cut into halves 1 3/4 cups raisins 1 cup pitted prunes 1 orange, cut into quarters 2 gallons apple juice or apple cider 1/3 cup sugar Directions:
Tie cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger in cheesecloth bag. Heat spice bag, water, almonds, raisins, prunes and orage to boiling in Dutch oven, crock pot or large pot. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Remove spice bag, prunes and orange. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and heat until mixture begins to bubble. Ladle almond half and a few raisins in to each cup before filling with hot Glogg.
Makes 24 half-cup servings.
|
-recycled cardboard “doughnuts” cut in various sizes
-pine cones gathered from your nearest forest, park, or back yard (I can help with this!)
-various dried flowers and pods (wild grasses would look nice, too)
-white glue and/or glue gun
-hole puncher
-twine
![nature wreathes creating](https://i0.wp.com/farm2.static.flickr.com/1332/5156214069_c5f776ea37.jpg)
Make:
- Punch hole near the top of each doughnut and thread some twine through to create a hanging loop.
- Adhere natural materials to the cardboard in arrangements that are pleasing to you. In other words: PLAY! Use white glue for small pods and a glue gun for the cones.
- Let dry.
- Hang.
Ice Painting! (From Preschool Daze)
Put water in ice trays, add food coloring, and place craft sticks (or wooden forks as you’ll see pictured) in the water and freeze. Once frozen, children can paint with the colored ice!!!!
Leave a comment