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A Season of Lights

December 13, 2014 Claire Annette Noland 6 Comments

lucia lightsNot only is it 12-13-14 but it is also the feast day of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of light. We celebrate most holidays and Santa Lucia Day is one of our favorites. It is interesting that a young martyr from Italy has become the center of a Swedish holiday. It is fitting, however that as the days grow darker, lights become more important.

Santa Lucia is important in the central California Valley city of Kingsburg where I live. The Festival of Lights Parade was held last week and Santa Lucia with a crown of candles led the way followed by young girls dressed in white gowns tied with a red ribbon at the waist. Boys also wore white but had large cone shaped hats covered with stars. They sang and held lit candles in their procession.

lucia parade

 

So, today is the “official” Santa Lucia Day. Kirsten from the American Girl collection made her annual visit.

Kristen

 

We started the day with Puff Pancakes which are super easy for kids to make. You need:

1/2 stick of butter   (4 Tablespoons)

4 eggs

1 cup low fat milk

1 cup flour

Divide the butter and put into 2 cake pans. Put the pans in the oven to melt the butter.

Put the eggs, milk and flour in a blender and blend until it is well mixed.

Pour the batter into the 2 pans on top of the butter. Bake for 20 minutes until they are puffed up and golden brown.

Top with powdered sugar, fruit preserves or applesauce.

butterbutter meltedpuffed pancake

 

Then, it was off to town. I met with darling Audrey for lunch at Diane’s Village Cafe where we ate Swedish sandwiches:

swedish sandwich

The one on the left is cucumber and ham. The one on the right is turkey on lingonberry preserves.

 

We walked a bit through town: dala

We love this Dala Horse.

svensk store

The Svensk Butik is filled with all things Swedish.

buns

Traditional Lussi Katter

I bought these Swedish candle lights to put in my front window. Don’t they look welcoming? I love the way they glow and make the room all cozy.

lucia lights

Now it is raining and we’ll settle into the comfy couch and read books by Jan Brett as a lovely ending to a lovely day.

swedish books

Filed Under: Books, Celebrate, Field Trips, Food, Places Tagged With: Kingsburg, Kingsburg Festival of Lights, puff pancake recipe, Puff Pancakes, Santa Lucia Celebration

Previous Post: « When we met you … a family celebration
Next Post: Books of Christmas – Four Favorites »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Evelyne says

    December 15, 2014 at 12:25 am

    This is lovely, Claire ! I’ve never been to kings burg and this is too bad as this celebration sounds like my kind of events. Of course Jan Bret’s books are perfect to end such a day. Thanks for the photos too. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      December 15, 2014 at 2:40 am

      Evelyne,
      I hope you make your way through the valley again and stop by for a visit. It is actually a very lovely area year round.

      Reply
  2. Erica @ What Do We Do All Day? says

    December 16, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    I love this! I made saffron buns like I do every year. They are so yummy!

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      December 16, 2014 at 7:18 pm

      I’m going to give the saffron buns a try.
      I’ve been following your blog for awhile and really enjoy your posts. I’m going to add it to my blog roll.

      Reply
  3. Trine Grillo says

    January 12, 2015 at 5:13 pm

    Happy New Year, Claire.
    I enjoyed this field trip. Did you know that I am I am writing about Saint Lucia?
    Hope to see you again soon.
    Creative blessings to you ~

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      January 13, 2015 at 5:28 am

      Hi Trine,
      I think it is a good idea to write about St. Lucia. I had a hard time finding information about her. Come to Kingsburg and we can go to the Swedish Botik.
      Ha det sa bra! (take care)
      Claire

      Reply

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Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

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claireannettenolandbooks

Author | teacher | Field Trip Planner
books that take you places
Raven’s Gift
Nancy Bess Had a Dress
Evie’s Field Day
Out and About w George series

Today’s the day! I’m the featured author on to Today’s the day! I’m the featured author on today’s Summer of Stories! Take a look and let me know what you think. The link is in my bio.

And then check out all the other great stories!

#summerofstories #floursackdresses #floursack #makedo #picturebookreadaloud 

@angelac.hawkins @gnomeroadpublishing @eringreneaux
I'm excited to share that the Crystal Kite Award v I'm excited to share that the Crystal Kite Award voting continues until July 18th for members of SCBWI. Our book, Nancy Bess Had a Dress, is in the Southwest Division (where illustrator @angelac.hawkins lives)

Members, you can vote for books in all of the regions.
Cast your vote at this link: 

https://www.scbwi.org/crystal-kite/CK8

I will be sharing Nancy Bess July 11th online for the Summer of Stories https://summerofstories.substack.com/

and I'll be doing story time and craft at the Three River Public Library on July 11th at 10:30

@gnomeroadpublishing @pbspree @eringreneaux @tularecountylib 
@scbwicencal #crystalkiteaward
Instagram post 18090291214629192 Instagram post 18090291214629192
We are enjoying a lovely summer’s day with CARL’S SLEEPY AFTERNOON thanks to our friends @laughingelephantbooks who sent us a copy signed by Alexandra Day and Carl!
Happy 40th Anniversary, Carl! You are such a good dog 🐾❤️
Carl has an opportunity to have a quiet and sleepy afternoon but does he rest? Not our Carl!
We’re on our 3rd generation loving this noble good dog and look forward to reading about his adventures for many more years!

#gooddogcarl #picturebookdogs #summerreading @mrernierecommends @christinabeeghly @laurennolandhajik @roxannenoland @gn705
Summer is the best time to beat the heat by taking Summer is the best time to beat the heat by taking your young ones to a museum. And I suggest, before you go, you share the delightful picture book, MousterWorks, written and illustrated by @angelac.hawkins
Young mice, Cosette and Pépin, join Grand-mère on a splendid adventure through a mouse hole into a museum. They gaze at brilliant interpretations of well-known painting by famous artists such as Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Edward Banister. Cosette excitedly engages with the art while her brother, Pépin, searches for cheese in the art and eventually realizes that he can be an artist and paint his favorite things.

The final photo is 2.5 year old Alice at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. She was captivated by "Home Sweet Home" (after Seurat, Manet, and Pippin) painted by Wangari Mathenge

Art is for all ages.

To read my full review, visit my blog https://afieldtriplife.com/mousterworks-lets-go-to-a-museum/

@gnomeroadpublishing #mousterworks #artmuseumswithkids
@laurennolandhajik
Looking forward to simple unscheduled days! #july Looking forward to simple unscheduled days!
#july #afieldtriplife #summer
Look what we found featured at the library! #nancy Look what we found featured at the library! #nancybesshadadress 
Thank you @tularecountylib 
#summerreading #picturebooks #librarylove 
@angelac.hawkins @gnomeroadpublishing
Happy Summer! At the top of our summer "to do" lis Happy Summer! At the top of our summer "to do" list is visiting libraries where I love to see staff recommendations. SUMMER: A Solstice Story written by @kelseyegross and illustrated by @renataliwska is such a lovely picture book.
Owl, Squirrel, Raccoon, Bear, Sparrow, Rabbit, Woodpecker, and Deer gather to celebrate the arrival of summer with its gifts of light and new life. The friends share sprouts, fresh water, flowers, and fruit each accompanied by special wishes for the little ones to shine, glow, shimmer, gleam, and blaze bright with solstice light. They spend the day with festivities as they dance, splash, hop, and savor a forest feast.
I shared this with a group of children the night before the Solstice so that they understood how special this date is. Then, we read it again as the sun set on the longest day of the year after partaking of many of the same activities done by the woodland animals. They really enjoyed the center pages that fold out.
This is a soft, gentle, and breathtakingly beautiful picture book that should be enjoyed all summer long. @pbspree #summersolstice #summerasolsticestory
We have been Good Dog Carl fans for almost 4 decad We have been Good Dog Carl fans for almost 4 decades so we are excited to celebrate 40 years of our favorite picture book series! I love the book mom and Carl’s adventures are the best!
So let’s raise a toast to Carl, the very good dog, and to  @laughingelephantbooks Here’s to many more wonderful years of ❤️ filled stories.
#wewon #gooddogcarl #afieldtriplife #picturebookdogs @laurennolandhajik @christinabeeghly @roxannenoland
Military families are made up of heroes, those who Military families are made up of heroes, those who leave home to serve and those who stay behind. It isn’t easy to find books featuring military families, so I was excited to discover when AS MUCH as the STARS: A Story of Love Across the. Miles – A Child’s Goodbye/ AS MUCH AS THE STARS: A Story of love across The Miles: A Mother’s Farewell. I love flip books because they are clever and provide a fun way to read two stories told from different perspectives. AS MUCH AS THE STARS does an exceptional job of showing the love and emotions surrounding a deployment and then a joyous return. In this authentic, well-written story, one half follows a young girl and her relationship with her military father. The other half features the viewpoint of that girl, now grown, whose son leaves home to serve. warm and colorful illustrations add to the text showing the love that is shared even when they are separated by great distances.
This is a wonderful book for all families and will help everyone understand the sacrifices that our brave service members make. I just wish this book had been available when I was teaching children in military families.
Written by Forrest Zenone, Skyler Zenone, and Tricia Stone-Shumaker
Illustrations by Penny Weber
@poppysadventures1 @pennyweberart @laurennolandhajik #militaryfamilies #asmuchasthestars
#mrernierecommends
FYI… sweet peas are blooming on Old Creek Road a FYI… sweet peas are blooming on Old Creek Road around Whale Rock Reservoir
The story of how they got there reminds me of Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney “You must do something to make the world more beautiful.” 
Read how these delicate blossoms came to grace the highways in San Luis Obispo County: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/johnny-appleseed-sweet-peas-planted-120000196.html

Lupine, poppies, and wild mustard are also blooming.

#sweetpeas #jackcreekfarms #roadtrip #afieldtriplife #missrumphius
I love finding new-to-me bookstores. @verbatim.boo I love finding new-to-me bookstores. @verbatim.books is a treasure!
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