Another Santa Lucia Day has come and gone. I really like that we celebrate this tradition. Of course, we don't follow it exactly as they do in Sweden, but it has become a nice way for us to take treats to friends and neighbors. It is celebrated not only in Sweden and Norway, but also Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovakia, and St. Lucia, West Indies.
It is a story of an Italian saint that when Christians were being persecuted and went into hiding in the middle ages, a young girl took them food. In order to have both hands free, she wore a crown of candles on her head. She was a martyr and died for her beliefs. The King of Sweden was looking for a way for his people to turn to Christianity, heard the story, and declared December 13 to be Santa Lucia Day and the official start of the Christmas season.
In Sweden, the oldest daughter gets up early in the morning, takes Lucia Buns and coffee to her family and neighbors. They have large processions and parades of Lucia and her Star boys. The star boys come collecting money for the poor.
We started celebrating this holiday when Madeline was 3 or 4. We decided we wanted to honor our ancestors by starting a tradition in our own family. We have changed a few things. We take treats to neighbors at night. This year, I made traditional Pepperkakor cookies, gingerbread cookies, and German Pretzels (prayer bread). The pretzel recipe is similar to Lucia buns, excluding saffron and raisins, and we love them. Besides, they are a nod to our German ancestors. Niko and Christopher are wearing Norwegian clothes (more ancestors) instead of the Swedish star boy outfits. Maybe next year, we'll add British crackers and a French pastry to include all our ancestors into our Christmas tradition...
Happy Santa Lucia Day! God Jul!
2 comments:
so cute, miss you so
I bought the stuff for my girls- but it always sneaks up on us before we are ready. Darn.
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