spiralingquestions:(photo source)The day of Saint Lucia is an essential part of Christmas in Scandin
spiralingquestions:(photo source)The day of Saint Lucia is an essential part of Christmas in Scandinavia. Each year on December 13, the eldest girl in the family portrays St Lucia, puts on a white robe in the morning and wears a crown full of candles. She serves her parents Lucia buns and coffee or mulled wine. In church, women sing the traditional St Lucia song which describes how Saint Lucia overcame the darkness and found light. Saint Lucia is one of the few saints celebrated by the overwhelmingly Lutheran Nordic people — Danes; Swedes; Finns and Norwegians but also in USA and Canada and Italy. The St. Lucia’s Day celebrations retain many indigenous Germanic pagan, pre-Christian midwinter elements. Some of the practices associated with the day predate the adoption of Christianity in Scandinavia, and like much of Scandinavian folklore and even religiosity, is centered on the annual struggle between light and darkness.The many Lucia songs all have the same theme:The night treads heavilyaround yards and dwellingsIn places unreached by sun,the shadows broodInto our dark house she comes,bearing lighted candles,Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.Sources and more info:http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/christmastraditions/qt/saintluciaday.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Lucy’s_Dayhttps://sweden.se/culture-traditions/lucia/ -- source link
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