It is the 25th of March: the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrating the visit of the archangel Gabriel to Mary to deliver the news that she was to bear a child, a son, and that that child would be the light of the world, the son of God. We are precisely nine months to the nativity, nine months to Christmas. The day is known also as Lady Day, as in Mary, Our Lady (Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, etc). In Sweden, the day is called Vårfrudagen, which follows the same logic, translating essentially to “Our Lady Day.”
That same logic, in an illogical way, also informs the menu for the day: it is traditional amongst Swedes to eat waffles today, which, to us, is always a good idea. This has happened purely as a matter of linguistic blundering: Vårfrudagen, in some Swedish dialects, is awfully close in both spelling and pronunciation to Våffeldagen. And while the former translates to “Our Lady Day,” the latter translates to “Waffle Day.” It is this bit of linguistic confusion that has had Swedes, for centuries now, eating waffles on the Feast of the Annunciation. It’s a tradition that has spilled over to wherever Swedes have left their mark, this annual excuse to eat waffles at any time of day on Vårfrudagen––breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We will be joining their ranks today, and we encourage you to do the same. The waffles in Sweden today are typically served with whipped cream and lingonberries or cloudberries. Enjoy yours as you wish!
Image: “Het Vertrouwelijk Onderhoud” by Adriaen van Ostade. Oil on panel, 1672 [Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]. These folks are about to enjoy a waffle together!
A reminder about our Springtime Stock-Up Sale: at the Convivio Bookworks catalog, $10 off everything in the shop when you spend $65, plus free domestic shipping when you used the discount code BUNNY at checkout. New arrivals and other springtime offerings include handmade paper egg containers from Germany (perfect for your jelly beans and malted eggs come Easter!), handmade wooden bunnies from Germany to help welcome spring, as well as handpainted pysanky eggs from Poland and Ukraine, and handmade chenille chicks from Germany for your Easter basket. “Handmade” is the theme for almost everything we offer. Use the BUNNY discount code also toward all of our Shaker teas and culinary herbs, toward our selection of Ramadan and Eid cards from Hello Holy Days! (Ramadan begins April 12!), toward our beautiful triple layer face masks from Chiapas… everything we sell.