Santa Lucia Day

St. Lucy made by Naturally Catholic from St. Nicholas Day

Santa Lucia

by Arvid Rosen

based on traditional Swedish lyrics

found in Lucia Morning in Sweden

Singing Santa Lucia from Lucia, Saint of Light 

Singing Santa Lucia from Lucia Morning in Sweden (we have the hardcover edition)

Night walks with heavy tread

round farm and brye, 

dark sun-forsaken earth

shadows attire. 

Once our power was restored, we baked our annual Santa Lucia Braided Bread to serve Monday morning! 

Then in our winter gloom

candlelight fills the room:

Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Silent and dark the night, 

now hear descending

rustle of wings in flight, 

all darkness ending. 

Our oldest daughter received her new Christmas Eve nightgown a little early this year! The girls have been using the same Lucia gowns for years, but this year it was too small. She loves her new flannel nightgown! 

Then she comes, dressed in white, 

head wreathed in candles bright: 

Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia! 

The star wands came in handy for waking up those teenage boys! ;) 

"Shadows will soon be gone

from earth's dark valley" - 

wonderful words anon

us cheer and rally. 

Day will soon dawn anew

in skies of rosy hue:

Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

A Special Nameday Gift - St. Lucia 11x14" Print from Audrey Eclectic

Saint Lucy, whose beautiful name signifies light, by the light of Faith which God bestowed upon you, increase and preserve His light in my soul, so that I may avoid evil, be zealous in the performance of good works, and abhor nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and sin.

Obtain for me, by your intercession with God, perfect vision for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them for God’s greater honor and glory and the salvation of souls.

St. Lucy, Virgin and martyr, hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. Amen.

St. Lucia, pray for us! 

Snow Day

We woke up early this morning on the feast of St. Lucia, Saint of Light, to a power outage and our first snowfall since December 2013! ‪#‎gaudetesunday‬ ‪#‎santaluciabreadpostponed‬‪ #‎lightthecandles‬

After a fun day playing in the snow, and checking out the raging river, our annual Santa Lucia Braided Bread is rising near the fireplace for the girls to bake and then serve in the morning. 

Celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas :: 2015

Well... Our schedule has been so full lately and, despite ordering books and picking up some chocolate coins and our favorite candy canes, I wasn't as prepared for the feast of St. Nicholas this year as I would have liked! I realized Saturday morning that I only had one new pair of slippers for our oldest... (Giving our children each a new Christmas picture book along with a new pair of shoes or slippers has always been our personal family tradition.)  I had ordered a couple pairs of slippers over Thanksgiving for our two youngest (which finally arrived today! Good thing their birthdays are next week...) and I hadn't been able to get out shopping for the rest. I thought I would go shopping sometime on Saturday, but the three boys had hockey games in the morning from 8:00-12:00, I worked at my Dad's office from 12:00-2:00 (last week was my third week working part-time for him), then took the girls to confession and out with my mom, before hurrying home for dinner then back to the rink with the whole family (and some friends!) for the older boys very first High School game that started at 8:30 pm. I ended up sneaking away during the break between the second and third periods and was able to quickly pick up four more pairs of new slippers (at great prices!) along with some Santa Hat Hershey Kisses and Cherry Pie Filling at a store across the parking lot. Whew!



When we got back home, sometime just before midnight, I quickly finished this year's St. Nicholas Chocolate Coins to go along with our new book, filled each candy bag with three large decorated coins (I'm saving the rest of the large coins for Christmas or O Antiphon Coins), the rest of the small coins, and a handful of Santa Hat Hershey Kisses each, so that they would all be ready for St. Nick when he arrived.  ;) Somehow it all came together!

You can find my review along with additional pictures of Saint Nicholas & the Nine Gold Coins here.

Captain LOVES his new Captain America slippers. 

After being out so late on the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas, everyone woke up late with no time to spare before leaving for morning Mass and our local parish's anniversary brunch. All the treats were still waiting for them when we got back home!

In addition to the new slippers, books, chocolates, and candy cane, St. Nicholas also left an orange and a couple saints (a mix from Catholic Folk Toys, Naturally Catholic, and Tiny Saints) for each of the children. 

Our little guy was very excited about his new St. Nicholas dolls from Naturally Catholic and Catholic Folk Toys! He was also thrilled with his new picture book: Little Blue Truck's Christmas. 

"Daddy! You read it to me?!" 

Rose waited to open her new book, The Message of the Birds, until after her Dad had finished reading. 

She will be receiving her new doll from Naturally Catholic on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For the feast of St. Nicholas she received an angel and St. Elizabeth of Hungary. 

Snuggles was very excited about his new book, Kristoph and the First Christmas Tree. I was surprised that my older boys recognized and remembered the legend right away from one of their Blue Knights meetings many years ago! It was a perfect pick for this 8 year old of ours. 

"Mom, look! He's holding my candy cane as his staff!" 

Chiquita received Apple Tree Christmas...

... and our Tasha Tudor loving Twinkle Toes received The Christmas Cat. 

The older boys also loved their new books, Confederate Night Before Christmas and An Irish Night Before Christmas. The themes were perfect for them and they have enjoyed reading them to their younger siblings. You are never too old for picture books, right?

The rest of our Sunday afternoon was spent resting and reading!

... and I still managed to make our annual Cherry Cheese Candy Cane Coffee Cake(s) as an afternoon treat for my family. Sometimes sticking with my AIP diet is SO hard! ;)

God, we pray that through the intercessions of St. Nicholas

you will guide and protect our children. 

Keep them safe from all harm and help them grow

to become loving disciples of Jesus in your sight. 

Give them strength to always mature into deeper faith

in you, and to keep alive joy in your creation. 

Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.