Kids love this celebration. It has costumes, a parade, and good food to make and share with others. Its a good way to absorb some restless pre-Christmas energy.
Start by reading the story and learning the song. Your family might like to seek out others in your neighborhood or town to visit later in the day. Let the spirit of St. Lucia's Day, the spirit of giving, guide your celebration.
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The Story of St. Lucia's Day
In Sweden the winters are very dark and long and bitterly cold. A part of Sweden lies in the Arctic Circle, and there the winter is like night, with no daylight at all.
Long, long ago, the Vikings of Sweden held festivals to mark the first day of winter, the exact middle of winter, and the last day of winter. They believed that their god Odin had set these festival dates. The exact middle of winter was the longest night of the year. That was December 13 on the kind of calendar they used in those days. On our calendar the longest night is December 22.
If you had lived in Sweden long ago, you would have dreaded the longest night of the year because everyone thought that bad spirits prowled that dark night to do evil. You would have shivered, just thinking of the demons and goblins that roamed on December 13.
People longed for a friendly spirit to bring back the light to
frighten away the demons. In time, over the centuries, people pictured this spirit of light in their minds as a young girl wearing a crown of candles in her hair.
Eventually, the Christians turned the celebration of December 13 into a time to honor a Christian saint, called St. Lucia. Lucia means "light."
There are different stories about St. Lucia. One story says that during a time of famine, when nothing would grow, St. Lucia came to Sweden bringing food and drink to the starving people.
Today in Sweden, every home celebrates St. Lucia Day. The oldest daughter in the family represents St. Lucia, the Queen of Lights. She gets up at dawn and makes coffee and bakes special holiday treats called "Lucia cats." They are twisted buns with raisin eyes.
Then she dresses in a white gown with a red sash. She puts on a crown made of evergreens, topped with real candles. Her younger sisters dress in white robes, but they don't wear crowns. The boys in the family dress as star boys, with white robes and high pointed caps decked with silver stars.
The candles on the Lucia Queen's crown are lighted, and she carries a tray of coffee and buns to her parent's room. She wakes them up by singing a song called "Santa Lucia." The brothers and sisters come too, carrying lighted candles and singing. Lucia serves the buns to everyone in the family. Then she might visit neighbors and teachers and friends, offering coffee and buns. Many young women go to hospitals and homes for the aged to serve sweets and coffee.
Later on this day there are Lucia parades and dances. Lighted candles are everywhere, reminding people that the sun is coming back.

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Last updated May 24, 2002 by clf@uua.org