God Jul.
Seasonal cheer %u2013 Skansa-style %u2013 was on the agenda when the Swedish Folkdancers of New York launched the holiday season with its annual Lucia Pageant and Christmas Dance at the Danish Athletic Club.
Visitors enjoyed a program of special events, including costumed dances and a Santa Lucia procession, transforming the facility, 735 65th Street, into a Scandinavian folk hall.
Throughout Sweden and among Swedish Americans, the Lucia pageant officially kicks off the Christmas season.
Traditionally, on December 13, the longest winter night of the year, the eldest daughter of the family dresses in a long white gown and adorns her head with a crown of candles to commemorate St. Lucia. She serves her parents coffee and lussekattor, or hot saffron buns, in the early morning hours while singing Christmas carols with her siblings.
