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The Lucia ceremony has developed into an event of national importance in Sweden. Lucia, whose “name-day” is the 13th December, was a saint from Syracuse who was martyred for her Christian beliefs.
How Lucia came to Sweden from Syracuse, no one knows. It seems that at some point, the idea of Lucia, meaning light, merged with a legend from Värmland, a province in Western Sweden.
There it is related that during a time of great poverty, a young woman appeared out of nowhere and sailed round the lake in a huge ship filled with food which she distributed to the starving people.
The blonde Lucia, the Lady of Light, dresses in a long white robe tied with a broad red sash and with a crown of flickering candles on her head, she brings with her a tray full of special Lucia bread and a pot of coffee.
“Bread for hunger, and candles to lighten the darkness”
Now, Lucia appears throughout Sweden - in the family circle, at the office, at school, in the hospitals and, often in a public parade through town.
Accompanied by “star boys” with tall hats, singing the traditional Lucia song, special lusse buns are passed around. These are decorative flat saffron rolls with a currant at each of the four rounded corners. Gingerbread hearts and stars follow. |