Leila Collier will sing a Christmas song by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius at the event.

The music of celebrated Finnish composer Jean Sibelius will provide part of the soundtrack for a new ceremony in Astoria this week.

Light in the Darkness, an event at the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park on Friday, will see the lighting of 50 candles to honor those who are missing this Christmas season.

The gathering will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a ceremony at 6 p.m. Should the weather be unsuitable for an outdoor gathering, an alternate date of Wednesday will be announced on the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park’s website.

Janet Bowler, who co-chaired the creation of the Nordic Park with Judi Lampi, said many people are occupied with family memories during the holidays.

“The Scandinavian Heritage Association wanted to create an event where people can focus on the good memories of loved ones who are absent this holiday season,” Bowler said. “We hope bringing people together as a community to socialize in our beautiful Nordic Heritage Park will be healing and healthy for the holiday season.”

Leila Collier, a retired educator with Finnish heritage, is active in leadership with Friends of Suomi Hall. She will sing, “En etsi valtaa loistoa” (I seek not power or glory), a Christmas song by Sibelius.

Lloyd Bowler will serve as emcee and Sirpa Duoos and Malachi Cummings will read poems. Saara Matthews will describe the significance of the candles. She, Bowler and Duoos will read the names of those being memorialized.

People submitting names have made donations to the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park for its maintenance fund, which has been tapped recently for repairs to its irrigation system and twice to repair a vandalized troll.

The memorial candles were donated by Finn Ware, in Astoria, a store owned by Matthews, who came up with the idea. She hopes the ceremony will expand in future years.

The lights are intended to replicate the appealing manner in which some European cemeteries are decorated for the season. “I was trying to think of a way to remember people who have passed, and thought about this,” Matthews said. “I thought it would be pretty at the park.”

Members of the VASA Swedish Lodge No. 205 and Friends of Suomi Hall will offer coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies, and there will be other seasonal music. People attending are recommended to bring portable chairs because of limited seating.

The park’s website contains an informative chronology of how the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park came about, springing from an idea in 2015, then planning, negotiating and fundraising efforts that took years, leading to groundbreaking in 2021 and dedication in June 2022.

Bowler said a QR code was installed last month so visitors to the park can locate more information by scanning it with their phones.

She noted that the six trolls in the park are popular with visitors of all ages. “All six have names and original immigration stories about how they came to the North Coast that can be accessed on the park website via the QR code, too,” she added.

“Light in the Darkness”

Light in the Darkness

Organized by the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association

5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, ceremony at 6 p.m., Astoria Nordic Heritage Park, 1590 Marine Drive, Astoria

Weather alternate date is Wednesday (any change will be announced)

Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies will be available

www.astorianordicpark.org