Adam Johnson, 9, of Schaumburg, Illinois, found that out Saturday when he got tapped to be a last minute fill-in for a Tomten that was home sick.

What’s a Tomten?

It’s a mischievous creature that lives on Swedish farms and helps watch over the animals and crops. The human version wears mittens, a tall red cone-shaped hat and a very Tomten-like fake beard that’s a bit “itchy.”

“I don’t think I’ll tell my friends,” Johnson said. “It’s a little embarrassing.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Tomten Adam Johnson, 9, of Schaumburg, Illinois, shares a Tomten secret with Joni Stark-Miller during the St. Lucia Day Celebration held at Stratford Lutheran Church Saturday.

The Lucia maidens and the eventually selected Lucia are the stars of the celebration. In Sweden, their job is to wake the family after staying up all night, offer rolls and juice. Usually the oldest girl in the family is selected.

In Stratford, the selection is done by drawing their names out of a glass bowl.

Bailey Anderson, 17, of Paton, got the honor this year. The reigning Lucia, Morgan Paulson, 16, of Boone, helped her out with her acceptance statement.

“Say ‘I’m very humbled by this experience.'” Paulson said.

“I’m a little shy.” Anderson replied.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Jay Larson, of Stratford, picks the 2022 St. Lucia by drawing her name out of a glass bowl held by Joni Stark-Miller Saturday during the St. Lucia Day Celebration held at Stratford Lutheran Church. Larson is the son of the late Carol Larson, who organized the event from 2004 to 2019.

Paulson was selected in 2019. She’s enjoyed an unusually long reign since the annual celebration was among the many things that got COVID canceled in 2020 and 2021.

From its inception in 2004 until 2019, the event was organized by Carol Larson who died on Dec. 14, 2020.

Larson is missed.

“She was so funny,” Paulson said. “She helped me tie the sash; I couldn’t do it to save my life. She also told the best stories.”

Larson’s legacy was still there. Hand-painted Tomten graced the tables during the after celebration coffee and her son, Jay Larson, of Stratford, selected the Lucia by drawing her name from the glass bowl.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Freshly crowned 2022 Lucia Bailey Anderson, of Paton, leads the procession out of the church Saturday during the St. Lucia Day Celebration at Stratford Lutheran Church. The annual event is sponsored by the Swedish Foundation of Iowa's Swede Bend Settlement, Inc. and the Swedish Immigrant Museum in Stratford.

“She loved to give,” he said. “Food, time and love.”

During her life, she painted hundreds of the wooden Tomten.

“They’re all over my house,” he said.

Another tradition from Sweden was enjoyed Saturday too. A whole almond was hidden in the rice pudding. The person who finds it gets a small gift.

Carol Angstrom, of Stratford, found it.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Carol Angstrom, of Stratford, shows off the gift she received for finding the almond, at left, in her serving of rice pudding during the St. Lucia Day Celebration at the Stratford Lutheran Church. The almond in the pudding is a Swedish and Danish Christmas dinner tradition.

“I turned the pudding over and it was on the bottom,” she said.

The St. Lucia Day Celebration is sponsored by the Swedish Foundation of Iowa’s “Swede Bend” Settlement, Inc. and the Swedish Immigrant Museum in Stratford.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
The 2022 Lucia candidates try their best to sing in Swedish Saturday morning during the St. Lucia Day Celebration at Stratford Lutheran Church. They are, from left, Delaney Paulson, 14, of Boone; Becca Anderson, 15, of Paton; Bailey Anderson, 17, of Paton; and the reigning 2019 Lucia, Morgan Paulson, 16, of Boone.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Adam Johnson, 9, of Schaumburg, Illinois, got a little more than he bargained for Saturday when he was volunteered to be a Tomten at the annual St. Lucia Day Celebration held at Stratford Lutheran Church.