I was privileged to take part in a school’s Saint Lucia celebration on the 13th of December.
What a warm and wonderful tradition to get you in the Christmas spirit! Candle light, beautiful songs, pepperkakor (gingerbread cookies), white robes, red ribbons and a lot of singing are going around Sweden this time of year. A lot of practicing for the big Saint Lucia event takes place beforehand. Traditionally one girl wears a crown of candles (or lights) on her head while others hold only a single candle each.
The Saint Lucia event I attended took place at Annedalskyrkan (church) in Gothenburg.
A bit of history:
St. Lucy is believed to have been a Sicilian saint who suffered a martyr's death in Syracuse, Sicily around AD 310. According to the legend she was seeking help for her mother's long-term illness at the shrine of Saint Agnes, in her native Sicily, when an angel appeared to her in a dream beside the shrine. As a result of this, Lucy became a devout Christian, refused to compromise her virginity in marriage and was denounced to the Roman authorities by the man she would have wed. They threatened to drag her off to a brothel if she did not renounce her Christian beliefs, but were unable to move her, even with a thousand men and fifty oxen pulling. So they stacked materials for a fire around her instead and set light to it, but she would not stop speaking, insisting that her death would lessen the fear of it for other Christians and bring grief to non-believers. One of the soldiers stuck a spear through her throat to stop these denouncements, but to no effect. Soon afterwards, the Roman consulate in charge was hauled off to Rome on charges of theft from the state and beheaded. Saint Lucy was able to die only when she was given the Christian sacrament.
In another story, Saint Lucy was working to help Christians hiding in the catacombs during the terror under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and in order to bring with her as many supplies as possible, she needed to have both hands free. She solved this problem by attaching candles to a wreath on her head.
The song:
The lyrics to the song we sang, (I love the sound of the Swedish on my tongue):
| Sankta Lucia | Translation |
| Natten går tunga fjät, runt gård och stuga. Kring jord som sol'n förlät, skuggorna ruva. Då i vårt mörka hus, stiga med tända ljus, Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia. Natten var stor och stum. Nu hör det svingar, i alla tysta rum, sus som av vingar. Se på vår tröskel står vitkläd, med ljus i hår, Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia. Mörkret skall flykta snart ur jordens dalar. Så hon ett underbart ord till oss talar. Dagen skall åter ny, stiga ur rosig sky, Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia. | Hark! through the darksome night Sounds come a winging: Lo! 'tis the Queen of Light Joyfully singing. Clad in her garment white, Wearing her crown of light, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia! Deep in the northern sky Bright stars are beaming; Christmas is drawing nigh Candles are gleaming. Welcome thou vision rare, Lights glowing in thy hair. Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia! |
(Images from the web; research: - www.wikipedia.com)
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