Celebrating the Solstice

Michaela had a Christmas dance during the last week of school and needed to take in some kind of holiday treat, so we decided to do some baking. Avonlea Jane declared she wanted gingerbread cookies but gingerbread piggies instead of men, so that's what she got. We made a huge batch of gingerbread piggies, and at the same time, I also made paleo gingerbread cookies (grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free). While the kitchen was being used as a baking assembly line, I also made some tea breads for Christmas afternoon. I made what I consider the taste of Christmas, my grandmother's cranberry-orange-walnut bread, and a paleo approximation, which tasted great but had a texture more akin to a Brittish pudding. I was waiting until Christmas Eve to make pumpkin pie and paleo pumpkin pie. 

Can you tell which recipe is my grandmother's and which is the paleo version?

Ready for her first school dance

On the day of the Winter Solstice, the kids and I went to a special program at Appleton Farms celebrating the arrival of the Farm Nisse, a Scandanavian tradition. The Nisse (pronounced nissie and the same thing as a Danish Tomten) is an elf who watches over the farm and its creatures. He's never supposed to be seen by humans, but he does declare payment at least once a year for his help. On Christmas Eve, you leave out porridge for the Nisse, and if he likes the porridge, he blesses your seeds and your animals for the coming year. If he doesn't like the porridge, prepare for a bad year of farming. 

After some caroling and cookies, the kids all gathered around to hear the story The Night Before Nisse. 

While we were at the farm, a new calf was born. Both kids liked walking through the milking barn.

Will was thrilled there were "he-hes" in the barn, but he didn't want to get close to them. He was horrified that Avonlea Jane would risk petting them. 

When feeding Maestro, Will was screaming, "A'Jane, no! Scared!"

Making bird seed ornaments for our outside tree

The Nisse arrived and tried the porridge, declaring it good. 

Going out to the fields with the Nisse to spread the newly blessed seeds

Someone fell down and was covered in field muck.

Trying her own bowl of porridge 

(There happen to be no pictures of Will because he was in the Ergo the whole time.)

Avonlea Jane had to ride home in just her socks, underwear, and Will's sweatshirt, because her boots, pants, shirt, and coat were covered in muck.

When we got home, we had a fabulous Solstice dinner with Daddy, Michaela, and Michaela's previous foster family: our friends Robert, Leticia, Taran, and Finn. We ate a lot of tradition winter foods (hog, broccoli, beets, squash, oranges, pomegranates), listened to mid-winter songs, and ate exclusively by candlelight to symbolize the darkest day of the year. After dinner, we brought out a yule log cake, read a book about the Solstice, and sang "We Wish You a Happy Solstice." It was a day and night full of special Advent activities.

The next day, the kids hung up their bird ornaments.