Lucia

Tomorrow is the 13th of December, which is celebrated in Sweden as Lucia. It's a ceremony in which The Lucia, or the bride Lucia, who is a girl dressed in a white gown and with a red band, and with candles in a crown on her head walks in a procession, with what we call maids (tärnor) and "starboys" (stjärngossar), and they all have candles in their hands. The procession takes place early in the morning, and they sing songs and give out small breads, the ones in the picture, called lussekattor. Lucia is a tradition celebrated in Sweden since the 1600's.
Lucia comes from the Catholic saint St.Lucia, who she was a martyr in Syracuse about 300 A.D. Lucia is also the only saint celebrated by the Lutheran Church in Sweden. Some say the celebration holds on to some pre-christian elements of midwinter-light celebrations, (Lucia meaning and symbolising light, and the fact that the prossesion "illuminates" the winter-darkness).

So, be sure to go up early in the morning.


( Oh, and it's also the night when all the kids of Sweden gets the most drunk. Except maybe for Midsummers Eve. And Valborg. )