These glowing buns are traditionally served on St. Lucia Day in Sweden, a holiday that is closely associated with the winter solstice because it falls on Dec. 13 which was the same date the solstice fell on in the old Julian calendar system. The two holidays make sense together, though one is Christian and one more pagan or secular, because they are both all about welcoming light in the darkness. There’s no sweeter way to celebrate that than with this gorgeous, rich saffron bun recipe from recipe developer Cecelia Tolone, an American baker living in Sweden.

Winter solstice marks return of the light, but it’s also just the very beginning of winter. To fend off any potential winter blues, you’ll need everyone’s tummies full of seriously joy-inducing sustenance, and hot chocolate is exactly that. This hot chocolate recipe from The Modern Proper is classic, easy, and so delicious.

Food blogger and YouTube-er Maangchi shares a beautiful recipe for a traditional Korean winter solstice dish called Patjuk. Glutinous rice balls bob in a smooth, slightly sweet porridge made from adzuki beans in this hearty, traditional solstice recipe. Why red beans? Well, as Maangchi explains, “Koreans believe that the color red wards off evil spirits, so this red porridge wishes good luck for the new year. My grandmother used to smear some porridge on her front door for good measure, and many people would leave a little bowl of it in front of their houses.”

If you only do one festive, wintery thing on the winter solstice this year, make it sipping this lovely mulled wine. Called glögg in Sweden and Glühwein in Germany, warm, spiced wine is peak winter joy. Your house will smell divine, and your guests — a pot of mulled wine demands at least an invited guest or two — will thank you.

In modern times, we might think of this classic winter cake as a Christmas dessert, but ‘yule’ actually refers to ancient winter solstice celebrations. So, embrace the shortest day with the very best kind of yule log — one you can eat! Sally, over at Sally’s Baking Recipes, has a beautiful and easy-to-follow (if rather elaborate) Bûche De Noël recipe.

Sticklers might argue either that wassailing is really a Twelfth Night tradition in England (meaning happening on the twelfth night after Christmas), or that it originated as a harvest festival earlier in the season (perhaps before Halloween, when the orchards were full). However, because it is — like so many winter solstice traditions — so heavily associated with celebrations that are meant to warding off of evil spirits by waving torches around in the dark night, wassail feels an appropriate beverage for winter solstice revelry, too. This lovely, simple wassail recipe from Cookie and Kate would be the perfect grown-up tipple for a solstice party.

The ancient Greeks called winter solstice Haloea (a Festival of Poseidon), while the Scandinavian counterpart, Yule, celebrated Freya. Both, however, relied on mistletoe as an evergreen symbol of renewal and vitality in the dead of winter. While you should absolutely not eat mistletoe (it’s poisonous), you can make these adorable mistletoe cookies to serve at your solstice celebration.

While this isn’t exactly a recipe, eating pomegranates does require a bit of work. Pomegranates are a traditional food of Iran’s Shab-e Yalda celebrations, a winter solstice tradition with ancient roots. “Yalda” means birth or rebirth, and the vibrantly red fruit is said to symbolize dawn and life. Plus, pomegranates are a fun fruit to enjoy with your kids — it may get a little messy, but that’s half the fun of any good party.