Today is the day of Santa Lucia – and Sweden is full of young girls with fire in their hair, who go round singing beautiful Lucia songs together with an entourage of handmaidens and Santa’s helpers.
The girl who is Lucia has real burning candles in her hair as she leads a procession of young women (and even boys these days, of course) bearing candles. They sing Lucia songs in Swedish – but apparently based on the Neapolitan song of Sankta Lucia, which the Scandinavian tradition is based upon.
There are several different legends about Lucia. Everyone agrees that she was a young girl living in Sicily in about 300 AD. Some say that she hid persecuted Christians and was burned at the stake for helping them. However, the fire refused to burn her and she ended up having her throat slit. Yes – these legends are a bit gory!
Other stories say that she fell in love with a young man who spurned her. So, in a (foolish, in my opinion) act of unrequited love, she is said to have cut out her own eyes and sent them to the man she loved. A rather strange way of declaring undying love! But as they say, love is blind…
Yet other stories say that Lucia was Adam’s first wife, who consorted (great word!) with Lucifer.
A more likely story is that in the Julian calendar, December 13th was the longest night of the year and people in the olden days believed that evil spirits were abroad then, so they burned lots of fires to keep the spirits at bay.
Whatever the origins, this Italian saint is now the Scandinavian symbolic figure: the bringer of light. It’s all about bringing light to the darkness of winter, of bringing warmth into the cold.
And, of course, it’s all about food and drink! This is the time when Swedes go mad in the kitchen and bake up storms of gingerbread and Lucia buns – more commonly called, Lucia cats (lussekatter in Swedish). These are saffron-flavoured sweet buns shaped like curled up cats with raisins for eyes. You eat these morning, noon and night – washed down with coffee or glögg. Glögg is like mulled wine spiced with cinammon sticks and cloves. You put raisins and almonds in a small cup and then fill up with glögg – and drink. You then use dainty little teaspoons to eat up the wine-soaked raisins and almonds!
And, now – if you’ll excuse me. I can hear a Lucia cat meowing to me from the kitchen!
We had a Scandinavian festival here a couple weeks ago, where I learned all about this, including how delicious the Lucia buns are! Have a fun day!
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Those buns look delish!! I love traditions like that!! 🙂 Have you ever joined the chorus as a handmaiden?
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Me – a handmaiden? Nice thought, but I’d rather be queen! Also – you have to be able to carry a tune…
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Cool – I learned something new! Can I use this as an excuse to make myself some glogg?
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I love learning about all of these traditions and the lore that surrounds them!!! thank you for sharing this!!!
And yes, it is always “all about the food and drink”!! LOL
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The food sounds amazing. And the traditions. Wow, so much going on in Sweden I never knew about.
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A couple of Saint Lucia videos from Sweden:
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So Interesting – yummy food 🙂
Ps – I think candles in a lady’s hair is just an accident waiting to happen. heehee
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Very interesting story about Lucia. Thanks for sharing.
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I don’t care how much yummy food I get to eat…you are not lighting my head on fire!!! Ugh…the smell of burning hair is certainly gonna dampen my appetite…especially if it’s MY hair! It is fun however to learn about the traditions of different countries.
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I have never heard of such a thing…
Sounds good to me.
But the candle on the head things abit odd:)
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I’m such a pagan! I like to skip the religious origins and go straight for the food! Sweet little cozy cat buns – I want one!
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Great story! I really enjoyed it! Those buns look lovely..somedays it is all about the food!
Plucking your eyes out over some Dude who doesn’t love you..seems a bit dramatic to me:)
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Really interesting Lady Fi – I love learning about the strange antics you humans get up to:)
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Peter has another daughter who lives in Denmark, she’s 10 and lives with her mom. Last year she was in a school celebration of this, and it was really interesting to read about it and see the pictures of her with the candles in her hair.
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Visiting from BPOTW…
I just have to give you link to a post that I read earlier this week about one family’s own St. Lucia celebration. I think you’ll enjoy it. Here it is:
http://tblads.blogspot.com/2008/12/photostory-friday-light.html
Enjoy!
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I love reading about the different traditions around the world. Thanks for sharing. visiting via BPOTW!
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Thank you for directing me here — it’s great to get your take on St. lucia.
Someday I’m going to come to Sweden and see it for myself.
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