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.
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 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. (Wikipedia)
Not sure if the video below will work for everyone world-wide, but I thought I'd give that a test. (Let me know if it works!) It's this year's (2025) Lucia Morning by Swedish Television (SVT); from Visby on the island Gotland, off the east coast of Sweden.
It's a 1 hour show, and in Swedish. But of course you can choose for yourself how much of it to watch/listen to. It will give you an idea of the typical atmosphere, anyway.
"Inside the city walls of wintry Visby, this year’s Lucia brings atmosphere and warmth with choirs from Sankta Maria Youth Choir, Voices of Hope, and Gotland Boys’ Choir. In the ruins of St. Karin and Helge And, the Christmas songs ring out, and we also get to enjoy several soloists, the Gotland Wind Quintet, and a children’s choir in the historic surroundings."
https://youtu.be/QVc5rAzMQCs?si=toSBG8tjXE-Urfmg
If this was a tradition here in Ludwigsburg (or in Germany at all), I'd certainly be out to watch it if possible. Thank you for the video; it works for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Meike, good to know. Then I suppose it should work within Europe at least. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful celebration. I love anything that celebrates light!
ReplyDeleteGinny, it is rather special.
DeleteMonica, that is so beautiful. The singing was glorious, but it was the children's choir that really touched me. Children's choirs always make me cry.
ReplyDeleteJanice, I'm glad you enjoyed it. (If "enjoy" is the right word for something that makes you cry! 😉)
DeleteYou capture both the deep symbolism of light in Advent and the enduring grace of the Scandinavian Lucia tradition, which feels especially moving in the dark of winter
ReplyDeleteThanks Ro. I pretty much just copied the introduction from Wikipedia, though, as that summed it up well.
DeleteA beautiful spiritual celebration.
ReplyDeleteCK, it does indeed bring "light in the dark" this time of year...
Deleteworking well here in Florida USA.. and now that song will be in my head for days. Love the horn at the beginning.. I would love to see it also. Music works in every lanugage
ReplyDeleteGood to know. I don't think I've ever shared a video of this length before.
DeleteThe video worked for me too. It's not a custom I knew about here, but recognised the opening song Santa Lucia.
ReplyDeleteAddy, I think celebrating Lucia (at least in this way) is not very widely spread outside of Scandinavia.
DeleteI once had a roommate with Swedish heritage and she prepared the wonderful cookies and dressed in white and red and I think even made a crown for her three year old son as well - waking us up singing Santa Lucia! I’ve sung it in choirs several times with Unitarian Universalist groups. Yes the video worked to North Carolina too! Thank you. I also showed a couple of pictures of it on my blog yesterday!
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I did see your Lucia pictures on your blog! :)
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