Christmas in Sweden
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| Google images |
One of the brightest celebrations in Sweden is St. Lucia's Day on December 13th.
The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden.
St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in 304AD. The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city.
She wore candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucia is Swedish for the name Lucy which means 'light'. And what a light of comfort she must have been to those persecuted Christians.
Today children dress in white with a red sash around their waste and a crown made of Ligonberry (an evergreen).
My grandparents, loved the USA. They always tried to do things the American way. They were proud Americans and downplayed their Swedish heritage. Their house had a picture of JFK on the wall and the American flag proudly displayed always.
They learned to speak English but could never lose their adorable Swedish accents (They pronounced their J's as Y's ) My Uncle named his three children Jan, Jill, and Jeff. They were called Yan, Yill and Yeff by my grandparents. Do you think my uncle could have named them something else?!
In trying to be so American, they never celebrated St. Lucia day. But my grandmother always told us about it and how they dressed in white with a crown of candles on their heads.
I think it is a beautiful tradition and wish that they had celebrated it. What a wonderful girl, so faithful to God to be persecuted for her faith.
Sankta Lucia (as she is called in Swedish) is now celebrated across Scandinavia in towns and churches where the children parade in their white costumes and crowns of candles. Their custom is to make saffron rolls today. It is a very simple celebration and a lovely reminder of why we are soon to celebrate Christmas.
What special traditions are you celebrating this time of year?
The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden.
St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in 304AD. The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city.
She wore candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucia is Swedish for the name Lucy which means 'light'. And what a light of comfort she must have been to those persecuted Christians.
 |
| Google images |
My grandparents, loved the USA. They always tried to do things the American way. They were proud Americans and downplayed their Swedish heritage. Their house had a picture of JFK on the wall and the American flag proudly displayed always.
They learned to speak English but could never lose their adorable Swedish accents (They pronounced their J's as Y's ) My Uncle named his three children Jan, Jill, and Jeff. They were called Yan, Yill and Yeff by my grandparents. Do you think my uncle could have named them something else?!
 |
In trying to be so American, they never celebrated St. Lucia day. But my grandmother always told us about it and how they dressed in white with a crown of candles on their heads.
I think it is a beautiful tradition and wish that they had celebrated it. What a wonderful girl, so faithful to God to be persecuted for her faith.
Sankta Lucia (as she is called in Swedish) is now celebrated across Scandinavia in towns and churches where the children parade in their white costumes and crowns of candles. Their custom is to make saffron rolls today. It is a very simple celebration and a lovely reminder of why we are soon to celebrate Christmas.
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| Google images |
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| All above paintings by Carl Larsson |
2 comments:
What a lovely tradition!!
And thank you for adding my button to your blog...I appreciate it:)
Beautiful pictures! I am enjoying the Christmas markets in Germany! SO much fun!
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