UNDERWOOD - There are teas that heal and teas that calm the body.

There's a tea at Underwood that's a brimming cup of Christmas spirit.

The tea - not the leaves, but the ceremony - will be 50 years old this year. That's time enough for a tradition to become essential to the meaning of a thing.

For the women of Augustana Lutheran Church, the tea at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the church has become essential to the meaning of Christmas.

It reaches back to their mothers' or grandmothers' time and forward, perhaps to their own daughters and granddaughters.

The tea is a gentle, ladylike affair. There is Christmas music, Christmas readings and Christmas delicacies, most of them Swedish in origin. There is chatter and the sound of women's voices above all.

Renee Fransen and Lori Gefroh were at the church earlier in the week, putting festive touches here and there, readying for the event. All women, regardless of church affiliation, are welcome.

They say the tea prepares them for Christmas in a way that the shopping, the crowds, the mall and the hectic preparations do not.

"It gets us in the spirit in the right way," said Fransen.

The tea dates back to 1958, an era when the women wore their best dresses, their brooches, their hats and gloves. Most were housewives, and enjoyed a more formal occasion to be among their lady friends in the community.

As with so many occasions, the tea is less formal, but no less meaningful today.

Fransen said she enjoys the tea partly because of the company of her gender. "As a community of women, we don't get together anymore," she said.

Gefroh said it's gotten a little more difficult over the years to find people to help, "but we manage to get it done."

They expect to serve more than 100 women, along with a few men who attend.

They'll use an original silver tea service that belonged to Lorraine Evander, or "Larry" as everyone called her, who was one of the Christmas tea founders along with Judy Hepper, who lives in Minnesota now, but may be a special guest Sunday.

There will be plenty of Swedish goodies, like krumkake, sandbakkelse, rosettes, fattigmand and spritz cookies as well, along with lefse, fudge, divinity and ribbon sandwiches.

To bake like a Swede requires liberal use of fresh butter and almond flavoring, Gefroh said. A small platter of spritz cookies set out on the church basement counter released a rich culinary perfume.

All that will be missing is Swedish coffee made the old country way, by mixing eggs into the grounds before percolating. It sounds odd, but "it was really wonderful coffee," Gefroh said.

While it wouldn't be as festive without the special foods and beverage, these are not the essential ingredients of the Christmas tea.

What's essential are the spiritual messages in the music and words, and taking the quiet, communal time to listen.

"It's very fulfilling,"Gefroh said.

"I always leave feeling like I've gained the Christmas spirit."

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511, or lauren@westriv.com.)