SWEDISH SAFFRON CHRISTMAS BREAD
Swedes are sentimental people, especially on December 13, when a beautiful blonde girl, dressed in a white robe, presides over the Lucia Day parade looking like a shimmering dream figure. Even the most reserved Swedish hearts melt. There are many legends about who Lucia was and why she became so important to the Swedes. An old folk tale from Varmland, a province in western Sweden where there was a great famine, tells of a Lucia who suddenly appeared on board a ship and distributed generous amounts of food to the starving people. Formerly, December 13 (Lusse) was believed to be the longest and darkest night of the year. Lusse marked the beginning of the Christmas season and the rule was that one should eat before dawn or it would be a bad Lusse. Today, it is customary in the Swedish home for the mother to be treated to breakfast in bed with hot coffee and St. Lucia's buns shaped in fancy twists. Swedish teachers, too, receive a similar tray, carried in by the "Lucia...
