The darkness of the Swedish winter is lit by a multitude of candles—and what a pretty custom it is, as many Swedes prepare for a traditional Christmas.

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Susan's longtime Swedish friend, Lotta Heggestad, shared her family's Swedish Christmas customs. Susan celebrated a Swedish Christmas with her many years ago and has such wonderful memories!  Lotta sent pictures of her Mellanvik home, above, to give us an idea of the beauty and romance of this season. A traditional food is the saffron bun.  Lotta told us that the saffronsbullen are eaten with coffee for breakfast on the morning of St. Lucia, Dec. 13, and on Christmas Eve, on the julbrod, Christmas Table, with glögg, a delicious mulled wine, and the whole smorgasbord of traditional Swedish foods from Swedish meatballs, to Grav Lax, herring, salmon, meat, egg, bread, cheese, paté, rice porridge with cinnamon, sugar and milk, sausages and so on!

Lotta added, “Otherwise we have the saffron buns for 'fika' i.e coffe or tea in the afternoon with buns and cookies. I think 'fika' is one of the most important words an immigrant learns after hej and tack! You have fika in the afternoon in all Jobs. If we have something that is holy in Sweden, it is fika!” Love that custom.

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Susan’s friend Anna Belfrage, a well-known and prolific Swedish author, has shared her fabulous saffron buns recipe, made in a figure eight with a raisin on each side and brushed with an egg-wash for a beautiful golden color. Once you taste one, we dare you not to get seconds!