The night lies heavy / around house and stables.
The sun has long passed / the shadows are brooding.
Then in our dark house / enters with hair ablaze:
Saint Lucia / Saint Lucia.

For some 400 years, the tradition of Lucia has been celebrated all over Sweden. In the wee hours of the morning of Lucia Day, December 13, processions of white robed youths can be seen throughout the country -- even on TV. They enter into homes and offices, schools and hospitals, and they sing of light and warmth in the middle of the dark, cold Scandinavian winter. With them, they carry gifts of lussekatter (Lucian cats: saffron buns), pepparkakor (pepper cakes: flat ginger breads), coffee, and, if you're lucky, glögg!

Glögg is the Swedish version of mulled wine -- except it's sweeter, spicier, and much higher octane. :-) It's guaranteed to break the ice at any party, be it 20 below or 70 above outside. It's as seductive as a little furry puppy and as insidious as a big bad wolf. It's culture in a glass, probably older than Lucia itself. And your's truly knows how to make it.

Ever since I left my home country, I've tried to keep a few Swedish traditions alive: The Midsummer Herring Fest is one of them, and Lucia is another. Of the two, Lucia is probably the simplest to appreciate and the easiest to get accustomed to. Here, take a sip. Take two. You see? (Now, give the glass back. Stop chasing the cats! Excuse me, that's my wife / husband / dog you're slobbering on.)

This year's Lucia Day will happen this Friday and you are cordially invited to join in the celebration. There will, of course, be hot glögg and if I have the time, freshly baked lussekatter. If you come early, you'll even have a chance to try what's left of "The Moose is Loose" Lövsuds Ale that I brewed for my Thanksgiving trip to Alaska last month.

The time is 19:30 or thereabouts and the place 207 High Street, Palo Alto near the corner of High and Hawthorne, about one block east of Alma and three blocks north of University (ie. across the street from 275 Alma for you WebTV-ites).

Come! Relax! Have a homebrew and some glögg! The weekend has just arrived.

--Lennart (with Dan, John, Laurie, Max, Maya, and little Inka)