Lucia day in Scandinavia is on December 13th – a very special day in the Scandinavian calendar. Originally, St Lucia celebrated “the bearer of light” and the tradition today is still that a train of people dressed in white will walk in the dark bearing candles, singing Christmas carols.
The Lucia celebrations in Sweden can be traced back to the tradition in German Protestant families of having girls dressed as angelic Christ children, handing out Christmas presents. The Swedish variant of this white-dressed Christkind started to appear in upper-class families in the 18th century on Christmas Eve with a candle-wreath in her hair, handing out candy and cakes to the children. Another theory claims that the Lucia celebration evolved from old Swedish traditions of Star Boys (as seen in picture) and white-dressed angels singing Christmas carols at different events during Advent and Christmas. In either case, the current tradition of having a white-dressed girl with candles in her hair appearing on the morning of the Lucia day started in the area around Lake Vänern in the late 18th century and spread slowly to other parts of the country and Norway during the 19th century.
Find out more about the celebration and Saint Lucy’s Day in London or get the yummy recipe on sweet saffron buns to bake and enjoy with the family tonight!
There’s also a St Lucia celebration in Barcelona, Spain, it’s really pretty, and the cookies and wine are also great!