Lucy was one of the early Christian martyrs, and the monks who brought Christianity to the Nordic countries. She also brought along tales of her martyrdom. Like most early Christian martyrs, St. Lucy is known for her good works in life and a violent death. According to legend, she would carry food and water to Christians who had been forced to hide out in the catacombs of Rome.
The catacombs were dark, and Lucy needed her hands free to carry supplies. So, she engineered an ancient version of a headlamp, wearing a wreath of candles on top of her head to light the way. Lucy died a horrible, gruesome death in AD after she refused to give up her vow of chastity to marry the pagan to whom she was betrothed. Why did St. Lucia's Day become such a big deal in Sweden along with the other Scandinavian countries? To commemorate St. Lucia, young girls traditionally wear wreaths on their heads, often covered in candles.
However, preteens and teenagers sometimes upgrade to the real thing. Towns and schools often elect a local girl to be St. Most Swedish towns were quick to copy the idea. Schools and workplaces also took up the custom, and Lucia, who initially had been rather lonely, acquired a following of handmaidens, star boys, the three wise men, gingerbread biscuits and elves. Lucia today is an important tradition for many people. For those with small children, celebrations start early at home, continue at preschools and schools, and may also be held at the workplace.
Lucia has become something of a symbol for Sweden. Only the Nordic countries have a tradition of Lucia celebrations centred around light, two weeks before Christmas.
Lucia is an important tie to their home country for Swedish people throughout the world, who have taken the concept with them as an export product. Here are the details of Christmas concerts and Lucia celebrations for Lucia celebrations — a unique tradition with ancient roots One of the most exotic Swedish traditions is Lucia, celebrated on 13 December. Most people in Sweden have probably experienced a Lucia procession, which is always held on 13 December.
A Lucia procession sometimes includes children dressed as gingerbread biscuits and elves. Everyone sings traditional Lucia songs that most Swedes know more or less by heart. Burning candles are nowadays sometimes replaced by battery-powered ones. Even so, a special atmosphere is created when the well-known songs are heard in the distance and the Lucia procession enters a room in darkness.
The buns are baked from wheat and the saffron in them gives a special yellow colour. By morning, the livestock needed extra feed. People, too, needed extra nourishment and were urged to eat seven or nine hearty breakfasts. In agrarian Sweden, young people used to dress up as Lucia figures lussegubbar that night and wander from house to house singing songs and scrounging for food and schnapps.
The first recorded appearance of a white-clad Lucia in Sweden was in a country house in The custom did not become universally popular in Swedish society until the s, when schools and local associations in particular began promoting it. The old lussegubbar custom virtually disappeared with urban migration, and white-clad Lucias with their singing processions were considered a more acceptable, controlled form of celebration than the youthful carousals of the past.
Stockholm proclaimed its first Lucia in The custom whereby Lucia serves coffee and buns lussekatter dates back to the s. Share with your friends. The National Day of Sweden. The crayfish party. Halloween the Swedish way. Walpurgis Eve. Skip to content.
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