It’s not every year I prepare gallons of glögg for our yearly Lucia party, and end up making a second batch. Glögg? YES. It’s Swedish for liquid cheer, and makes the transition into the new year a little easier. (Glögg contains special sulfites that seem to temporarily alter the inner ear so that post-Christmas screaming and fighting among children appear less shrill and bothersome.) Without glögg, there would be no Swedish model family, and probably no social democracy worth a damn. (Glögg is primarily consumed in Scandinavia, but also in Germany, where it’s called gluhwein). Glögg breathes generosity, empathy and precocity into the little Swedish children who are allowed to sniff and/or taste. Believe me—I made it to quarter finals in the Swedish game show IQ at age 14 because I could accurately guess how much liquid was contained in an unmarked E-flask (you were supposed to calculate it by pouring the liquid back and forth between other unmarked E-flasks, but I just guessed). Here’s my recipe:

2 bottles cheap red wine

1 bottle port

1 bottle madeira

1 1/2 cups sugar

50 cloves

10 cinnamon sticks

2 teaspoons cardamom seeds

peel from 2 oranges (just the orange—not the white—part)

peel from 1 lemon (just the yellow—not the white—part)

Pour 1 bottle of red wine into a large saucepan. Add sugar, spices and peel. Warm gently and stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Do NOT simmer. Turn heat off and let steep, covered, overnight. Pour mixture through a fine sieve, removing solids. Mix with the rest of the wine, port and madeira. Bottle and serve warm. Again, do NOT simmer, or the alcohol will go away and children’s screams break your brain.