Oooohhhhhh! A holster!
Brown eyed Man is having these made. Seems too big to me, but whatever. I don't carry that type of gun anyway and as long as he's not getting me one fro Christmas, I'm fine with it.
THE QUILT. I finished it on Saturday morning. I took it to the cleaners today to make sure they get any pencil marks or fabric glue spots off of it before I wrap it up. This picture doesn't do it justice as it's much prettier when you look at it up close and can see the details of the individual hankies.
Finally, our 2011 version of St. Lucia. Also known as Saint Lucy and Santa Lucia. We put a little more effort into her outfit this year. In addition to the crown of candles, we added the gown (should be white, we only had pink) and the traditional red sash. This year she's holding a Swedish Dala Horse rather than a Julbok.
Since I can't explain it very well, I found this explanation on sweden.se. The comments in blue are mine.
The Lucia tradition can be traced back both to St Lucia of Syracuse, a martyr who died in 304, and to the Swedish legend of Lucia as Adam’s first wife. What a minute...Adam had a FIRST wife? It is said that she consorted with the Devil and that her children were invisible infernals. Thus the name may be associated with both lux (light) and Lucifer (Satan), and its origins are difficult to determine. The present custom appears to be a blend of traditions. Light and Satan? What better ways to celebrate the holidays than with light and Satan?
In the old almanac, Lucia Night was the longest of the year. It was a dangerous night when supernatural beings were abroad and all animals could speak. By morning, the livestock needed extra feed. From talking too much? People, too, needed extra nourishment and were urged to eat seven or nine hearty breakfasts. SEVEN OR NINE? This kind of feasting presaged the Christmas fast, which began on Lucia Day. Also known as the day everyone barfed their guts out.
The last person to rise that morning was nicknamed ‘Lusse the Louse’ and often given a playful beating round the legs with birch twigs. Nothing more playful that a beating on the legs with tree branches. "Ha Ha You got up late! Prepare to have your skin all welted up! Come on! This is PLAYFUL!" The slaughtering and threshing were supposed to be over by Lucia and the sheds to be filled with food in preparation for Christmas.
In agrarian Sweden, young people used to dress up as Lucia figures (lussegubbar) that night and wander from house to house singing songs and scrounging for food and schnapps. Scrounging for schnapps. Yesssssss.
The first recorded appearance of a white-clad Lucia in Sweden was in a country house in 1764. The custom did not become universally popular in Swedish society until the 20th century, when schools and local associations in particular began promoting it. The old lussegubbar custom virtually disappeared with urban migration (you mean scrounging for schnapps went away?), and white-clad Lucias with their singing processions were considered a more acceptable, controlled form of celebration than the youthful carousals of the past. Stockholm proclaimed its first Lucia in 1927. The custom whereby Lucia serves coffee and buns (lussekatter) dates back to the 1880s, although the buns were around long before that.
So, basically, this is one mixed up holiday. Our oldest (only) daughter got up waaay after we did. We didn't get any coffee or buns and I didn't technically make her put the outfit on until about 5 p.m. I was too busy scrounging for Schnapps...or red wine.
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