To give a little history of the holiday, St. Lucia (or St. Lucy) was an Italian saint who died as a Christian martyr. How she came to be celebrated in Sweden is explained in various ways, but Swedish tradition tells of a woman appearing to starving people in Sweden in the Lake Vänern region and bringing them food. She was dressed in white and wearing a crown of burning candles on her head. The woman was believed to be St. Lucy, and this initiated the celebration of her feast day in that region. Eventually, the tradition spread to the rest of Sweden.
As part of the tradition now celebrated, the eldest girl in the family will wake up very, very early before the coming day begins to lighten the sky and dress in a white gown tied with a red sash. On her head she'll put a crown--commonly made of evergreen or lingonberry leaves--with lighted candles in it (the daring will use real lit candles). She'll go around to her family, singing as she goes, to wake them. Often, she will carry food with her, traditionally Lucia buns (called "Lussekattor" in Swedish) and coffee. In Sweden, this tradition takes place everywhere, and even businesses and public buildings like schools and hospitals will participate in their own rendition of the Lucia Day tradition, including having a girl as their own St. Lucia with a train of girls also in white who are her handmaidens; boys join the train too as the "star boys." Do an image search for "St. Lucia Day celebration" and you'll see how big the trains get.
St. Lucia Day celebrations are not held in Sweden alone, although the manner of celebrations differ in other areas. The other Scandinavian countries celebrate this day, as well as Italy and an island in the Caribbean that shares St. Lucia's name. Parts of the US where the population is heavily Scandinavian also have communal celebrations of this day.
In my family, this day is always remembered and the Swedish tradition always kept for two reasons. 1) My father was born and raised in Sweden, and we celebrate this as part of the family's culture. 2) Both of my parents share this day as their birthday, so this has also become a part of their birthday celebration.
When I was a little girl in pre-school, my mother would come to my school as St. Lucia and share this tradition and ceremony with my class. She would wear the white gown and red sash, and on her head would be a crown of greenery with battery-powered candles. Mom would come in, singing Lucia's song, and carrying a tray of goodies for me and my classmates. You can imagine how interesting this was for my classmates whose Christmas figures included Jesus, Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty but no crowned woman in white. At home, she would dress me up in my own Lucia outfit (I was the oldest girl in the household), carefully help me light a candle that I would hold away from my long hair, and jump back into bed with my father to watch me walk in as Lucia's song played on the stereo (since I couldn't memorize the words yet). And of course she would gasp right along with my dad and say how beautiful I looked. This would promptly be followed by coffee (for my parents) and muffins in bed.
As the oldest of my dad's children, I still continue this tradition for them even though I no longer live with them. Years ago, I learned the song so that I could sing it without the help of the stereo. I have a white gown that I pull out of my closet once a year for this holiday, and I wear the sash and crown that my mom wore for me and my classmates so long ago. Since I don't live with them anymore, I sneak into their house very early in the morning, make a pot of coffee, gather a tray of food, and carry it into their bedroom, singing to announce Lucia's arrival (you can see the first verse of the song at the bottom of this post).
I think my mom especially loves having this birthday present every year. Someday, if I have a daughter, this tradition will be passed on to her.
Sankta Lucia:
Natten går tunga fjät
rund gård och stuva;
kring jord, som sol förlät,
skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus,
stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.
Translation:
Night walks with a heavy step
Round yard and hearth,
As the sun departs from earth,
Shadows are brooding.
There in our dark house,
Walking with lit candles,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!
I'll be posting my weekly recipe tomorrow.
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