Happy Saint Lucia Day!
Saint Lucia statue in my house to remember our ancestors and Saint Lucia. Every year there is a snowflake that Sue Huston makes out of her mother’s white gown she wore on Saint Lucia. It is placed next to the tree to start the Christmas season.
December 13, 2014
The morning of December 13th is the darkest day in Sweden; the only way of light is the candles on top of Saint Lucia’s head. In the United States we see the light of day, but in my home we shut off all the lights and curtains to pretend it is dark and we are Sweden.
In the United States our Winter Solstice is December 21st because we use the Gregorian Calendar, but in Scandinavian countries like Sweden they determined the Winter Solstice by the old Julian Calendar. Because of the difference in calendars, the Swedish celebrate the Winter Solstice/St. Lucia Day on the 13th.
Traditionally, in Sweden the oldest daughter wakes up and serves her mother, father and siblings breakfast in bed, which usually contains saffron buns.
However in my family, my mother, Sue Huston, wakes up and makes cookies for friends and family (because not many people in the United States would be familiar with saffron buns). She carries on the tradition instead of my older sister, because my sister is an adult and has moved out of the house, and my mother feels “pride and a connection with my ancestors that came before me while making the baked goods.”
My grandmother Barbara Rommel, who is 100% Swedish, grew up in a Swedish town near Chicago. When she was a child, Saint Lucia was culturally important, and the school would shut off its lights for an hour and have a Saint Lucia “parade” in the dark with candles lighting up the room.
In Sweden and in my grandmother’s hometown, the young girls dress in white robes, red sashes and candles on their head would sing “Saint Lucia’s Song.”
This longest night of the year has a mythology surrounding it, including that animals can talk and supernatural beings are lurking around. St. Lucia (Lucy means light) was a martyred Christian who snuck food and blankets to the poor (A.D. 304).
In Sweden, and in my family, December 13th starts the beginning of the Christmas season. It is celebrated by giving money and food to others who are in need.
My mother brings food to her work and will explain the holiday to friends. She does this to honor what Lucia did and it’s her Swedish way of telling everyone to have a Merry Christmas.
