St. Lucia’s Day
An Alphabet of My Likes and Dislikes: “Y”
This is a post belonging to a new blogging project — the title is pretty much self-explanatory, I think; the project’s introductory post can be found HERE. Credit for the idea: BeetleyPete. As always, the only thing linking the two items mentioned in this post in my mind is that they both start with the […]
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COVID-Year Everyday Saints
24 Festive Tasks: Door 8 – St. Lucia’s Day, Bonus Task: Post a picture from your most recent or favorite vacation on the sea (or a lake, river, or any other body of water larger than a puddle), or if you’re living on the sea or on a lake or a river, post a picture […]
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2020 Gävle Goat Guess
24 Festive Tasks: Door 8 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 2: Guess (and strictly no googling!): Is the Gävle goat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat) going to survive until after Christmas this year? December 26, 2020: I’ve admittedly been pushing this task until the very last moment (for purposes of this game, today counts as part of “Christmas”, as […]
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Michael Jecks: The Mad Monk of Gidleigh
24 Festive Tasks: Door 8 – St. Lucia’s Day, Book: Read a book set in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, by a Northern European / Nordic author, with a predominantly white cover (or white with red lettering), newly released in November or December of this year, or set in the candle-lit world (i.e., before the discovery […]
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Hygge!
24 Festive Tasks: Door 8 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 1: Get your Hygge on — light a few candles if you’ve got them, pour yourself a glass of wine or hot chocolate / toddy, roast a marshmallow or toast a crumpet, and take a picture of your coziest reading place. Post a picture. […]
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In Honour of Harriet Vane
24 Festive Tasks: Door 10 – Russian Mothers’ Day, Task 4 & Door 15 – International Human Rights Day, Tasks 3 & Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 1: Door 10, Task 4: Forget-me-nots and handmade medals of honor are important Russian Mothers’ Day gifts. Create a medal of honor (with or without the […]
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Favorite Trolls and Gnomes
24 Festive Tasks: Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 3: Trolls, gnomes, dwarves and similar beings (some evil, some less so, almost all of them mischievous) are a staple of Scandinavian mythology and folklore, as well as other folklores and mythologies around the world and, of course, fantasy and speculative fiction. Who is your […]
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Books Shipped Long Distance
24 Festive Tasks: Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 4: The historic (3d century AD) St. Lucia was Italian; yet, like those of many other saints (including, e.g., St. Andrew and St. Nicholas), the most important celebrations of her holiday don’t occur in her place of origin but somewhere else in the world. List […]
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Katrine Engberg: Krokodilwächter (The Tenant)
24 Festive Tasks: Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Book: Task: Read a book set in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, by a Northern European / Nordic author, with a predominantly white cover (or white with red lettering), newly released in November or December of this year, or set in the candle-lit world (i.e., before the […]
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Sleigh Rides
24 Festive Tasks: Door 16 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 2: Compile a list of five or more carols, poems, short stories, novels or other pieces of writing that feature sleigh rides. On the minus-twentieth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … Two Christmas carols, one orchestral dance, one fairy tale, […]
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St. Lucia’s Day: Door 16
Reblogged from: Moonlight Snowfall December 13! We’re revealing this now, because it is also revealed “beneath the fold.” Door 16: St. Lucia’s Day Task 1: Famous first words: Tradition has it that the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize are woken up by the St. Lucia maidens, as St. Lucia’s Day (Dec. 13) […]
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Skandinavische Weihnachten
24 Festive Tasks: Door 17 – St. Lucia’s Day, Book: Read a book that is set in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, or by a Northern European / Nordic author, or a book newly released in November or December of this year. A charming anthology of Christmas short stories and poems from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, […]
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A Christmas Book Flood
24 Festive Tasks: Door 17 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 1: In honor of the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið / Yule Book Flood tradition, create a (virtual or physical) “book flood” and post a picture of it. A book flood of the print and audio CD part of this year’s Christmas reads (both completed and yet to […]
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The Gävle Goat Guess
24 Festive Tasks: Door 17 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 4: Guess (scout’s honor, NO GOOGLING!): Did the Gävle Goat survive this year? For background: The Gävle Goat is a straw effigy erected in Gävle, Sweden, every year at the beginning of Advent. It is infamous for being burned down ahead of time, which as […]
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A Crown of Light Made from Book Covers
24 Festive Tasks: Door 17 – St. Lucia’s Day, Task 3: Create a “crown of light” from book covers prominently featuring a lighted candle. My feeble attempt at creating the approximation of a circular St. Lucia’s crown: Inspiration for the book covers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3734.Lamps_torches_candelabras_on_the_cover https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/33553.Candles_and_Lamps (These don’t have to be books from your own shelves!) […]
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16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Final Tally
The Markers: Stack of Books: Books read Red Bows and Ribbons: Other Tasks completed Joker cards used: The Squares, Books and Other Tasks: Square 1: November 1st: All Saints Day / Día de los Muertos & Calan Gaeaf Book themes for Día de Muertos and All Saint’s Day: A book that […]
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J. Jefferson Farjeon: Mystery in White
16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Square 7 – St. Lucia’s Day Midwinter Snowstorm Book themes for Saint Lucia’s Day: Read a book set in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden – and Finland for the purposes of this game) or a book where ice and snow are an important feature. A snowstorm stopping a train […]
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16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Seventh Square – International Human Rights Day and St. Lucia’s Day
International Human Rights Day (December 10th) Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on December 10 every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, on December 10, 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one […]
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16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Updates / Blackout
I’ve yet to read at least one book for some of the squares, but I’ve completed a minimum of either one book or one task for all of the squares, and in several cases, more. The Markers: Stack of Books: Books read Red Bows and Ribbons: Other Tasks completed […]
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Hygge!
16 Tasks of the Festive Season: Square 7– St. Lucia’s Day Tasks for Saint Lucia’s Day: Get your Hygge on — light a few candles if you’ve got them, pour yourself a glass of wine or hot chocolate/toddy, roast a marshmallow or toast a crumpet, and take a picture of your cosiest reading place. The […]
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