In Sweden, the most lavish meal of the year is held on December 24th, Christmas Eve. At home in the U.S., we do a modified Julbord, Christmas smorgasbord, with pickled herring and boiled potatoes followed by baked ham, red cabbage cooked with apples and rye bread.

Lucia Day on December 13th is one of the highlights of the Christmas season. In Sweden and in Swedish families abroad such as mine, the day begins with the ritual drama of the Lucia breakfast.

In Sweden, the summer solstice is a magical time. In Stockholm, the lavender twilight lasts until

11 p.m. with the day breaking again around 2 a.m., while above the Arctic Circle the sun doesn’t

sink below the horizon for weeks.

The three-day official holiday begins on Midsummer Eve when friends and family gather to adorn the maypole with birch leaves and wildflowers.

Called fettisdagbulle, literally Fat Tuesday bun, this pastry is also known as semla (pl. semlor) after the Latin word for wheat bun, simila.

In Sweden, March 25th, the Roman Catholic feast of the Annunciation, also called Our Lady’sDay or Vårfrudagen, has come to be celebrated as Våffeldagen, Waffle Day.