Feeling the warmth and joy of the Christmas season. The baking's begun... December 13 is the official Santa Lucia day celebrated throughout Scandinavia. Usually a family's eldest daughter will portray Lucia, dressed in a white gown with a red sash, wearing a crown of candles and bearing a tray of coffee and lussekatter (saffron buns) for the family's breakfast. Just seeing the candles in the lingonberry wreath (the evergreen branches and leaves symbolizing new life in winter), makes me recall all the darkened halls, the bright, flickering candles and the choruses of sweet voices I've heard through the years at various pageants, singing of the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness. The tradition is alive and well across America, with special programs at various museums, Vasa and Sons of Norway lodges and the Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA) Christmas Fairs. Time to make more Lucia buns.