Guests of the Endicott family ushered in the Christmas season with a Winter Solstice Celebration, marked by a candle-lit St. Lucia Ceremony, a Swedish tradition. The party was hosted at the spectacular Windsor home of Mona Endicott, joined by her daughter and son, Petra and Sven Frisell. This year’s lovely celebration was a particularly poignant one that included fond remembrances of Mona’s husband, Bradford Maxwell Endicott, who passed away in April.

The extraordinary impact he had on so many lives was commemorated in a memorial book at a Celebration of Life held in October at the MIT Endicott House in Massachusetts, where a program summed up the MIT- and Harvard-educated man: “Beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, philanthropist, world traveler, adventurer, scientist, fish farmer, butterfly expert, author, shoemaker, hunter, art collector, diver, conservationist, trout and salmon fisherman, photographer, dancer, raconteur, trustee, lover of all things maple and sugar, and most dear friend to many, he was also a Board Member of the Handel and Haydn Society, a Patron of the New York Baroque Collegium, and Chair of the Grants Committee on the Council for the Arts at MIT.”

Fellow Windsor resident Evelyn Mayerson recited a poem she wrote about their friendship for the October celebration, before all raised their glasses to toast his memory.

A wonderful addition to the St. Lucia ceremony featured a trio of vocalists from the Community Church of Vero Beach, who expertly braved the task of learning and performing Lucia carols in the Swedish language. Their voices ushered in a candle-lit procession of stjärngossar (star boys) and tärnor (girls), led by the captivating Eva Frisell, dressed as St. Lucia in a long white gown with a red ribbon at the waist and an evergreen crown of lit candles. Following tradition, the role of Lucia has been passed down through the generations, from Mona to Petra to Eva.

The enchanting procession slowly made its way around the pool and into the living room, where the festive ambiance was enhanced by the glow of a spectacular Christmas tree. Afterward, guests enjoyed a delicious ‘julbord’ buffet of assorted traditional savory fare and sweets.