Nordic Food and Fun during the Holiday Season": In-Person Badger Talk

This is a free, in-person talk hosted on November 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM by La Crosse County Historical Society and Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center in Coon Valley, WI. More information to come on registration. This talk will not be available virtually. This talk focuses on two specific traditions—St. Lucia’s Day and Christmas along with related holiday foods—in the Nordic countries by giving a short history of the holidays, describing how they’ve changed over time, and discussing how they’re celebrated in the US. In doing so, we discuss how food and holiday celebrations show that traditions ground us in our past, reflecting our present, and change as we create our own future. Marcus Cederström earned his B.A. from the University of Oregon in Sports Business, History, and Scandinavian Studies and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a folklorist working in the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic at UW-Madison as the community curator of Nordic-American folklore for the “Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest” project. His research interests include immigration to the United States, identity formation, North American Indigenous communities, and sustainability.