 |
| Classic St. Lucia image by Jenny Nyström (Swedish artist, 1854-1946) |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. According to legend, she brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way, leaving both hands free to carry as much food as possible. Because her name means "light" and her feast day had at one time coincided with the shortest day of the year prior to calendar reforms, it is now widely celebrated as a festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy's Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on 25 December, Christmas Day.
Saint Lucy's Day is celebrated most widely in Scandinavia, Italy and the island nation of Saint Lucia, each emphasising a different aspect of her story. In Scandinavia, where Lucy is called Santa/Sankta Lucia, she is represented as a woman in a white dress symbolizing a baptismal robe and a red sash symbolizing the blood of her martyrdom, with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which symbolizes bringing the Light of Christ into the world's darkness.
I tried to persuade Barbie and Skipper to dress up as St Lucia with maid, but they weren't happy with the outcome. They complained both about my skills as a dressmaker, and my failure to find any kind of candles to fit the wreaths that I made for them out of garden wire. They also pointed out that with their arms tied like that, they couldn't possibly hold neither trays nor candles! So I reluctantly agreed that we'd probably better skip the whole Lucia thing... Upon which they immediately changed into more comfortable clothes and set off out to look for a Christmas tree instead - in spite of me reminding them that no tree is going to be decorated here until next weekend!
At least Barbie and Skipper agreed to have their photo taken in their Lucia costumes! Maybe next year, some candles and white dresses will turn up :-)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's always a pleasure to see them!
Thank you for explaining more about the Lucia tradition. I remember most of it from what I have read elsewhere (and very likely on your blog, too, in previous years), but still wonder why it has never really taken a hold in predominantly Catholic regions of Germany, such as Bavaria, where many other Saints' days are observed.
Meike, alas I have not inherited my mum's skills when it comes to making clothes, neither for myself nor for little dolls! (As is probably obvious, I just experimented with wrapping them up in white cotton handkerchiefs...)
DeleteI'm not really sure how we came to adopt the celebration of an Italian saint up here in the north to begin with. It probably connects to older solstice traditions here in Scandinavia though - just like Christmas came to replace and mix with older Yule traditions...
You did make Skipper's booties, didn't you :-)
DeleteYou have a good memory for details, Meike! Yes I did (last year) but that did not involve any sewing, only tape... (haha) It looked so wrong to let her wear light summer shoes with winter jacket!
DeleteIsn't that typical of teenagers - you do your best and they complain! However they do look very smart dressed for tree-hunting.
ReplyDeleteMy husband was working in Sweden on Lucia day, and at the evening dinner they had a procession just as you describe. He enjoyed seeing the tradition, but was worried about the naked flames on their heads!
Carol, in many contexts (like in schools etc) the naked flames are nowadays replaced with battery candles for safety. :)
Deletethe video is beautiful, music transcends all lanugages! her voice is beautiful... I am too clumsy to do the fire thing but I love seeing it
ReplyDeleteSandra, yes, there is a kind of 'haunting' beauty to that video, isn't there.
DeleteSo glad you posted about Santa Lucia today. I did too, among other Yule traditions of welcoming the light. That video is beautiful, so I borrowed it and added it to my post (giving you credit as the source of course!) Your little gals didn't appreciate their simple garb, and I agree, little candles for their wreathes would have been difficult to do. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. I just found that video on YouTube and chose it because it's a bit "different" from he traditional choir performances. (I've probably shared a bit about the Lucia traditions on this blog every year since I started it!)
DeleteThe song is beautiful and haunting. And I love the story. It is so cool that you have your Barbies out as decorations dressed for various occasions!
ReplyDeleteOr a sign of me having entered my "second childhood", perhaps? ;-)
DeleteBeautiful video.
ReplyDelete