St. Lucy, December 13th
“Santa Lucia, thy light is glowing
Through darkest winter night, comfort bestowing.
Dreams float on dreams tonight,
Comes then the morning light,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia.”—Swedish Children’s Folk Song.
Today, December 13th, in the darkest hours of the morning (2 a.m. to 4 a.m.), in Sweden and Norway, the eldest daughter of a family wearing a white gown, a red sash, and a crown of lingonberry twigs and seven burning candles on her head emerged out of the darkness carrying a tray of rich saffron buns and steaming coffee to wake up her family. Every village also has its own Lucy, who goes from one farm to the next carrying a torch to light her way, bringing cookies and buns at each house, and returning home by daybreak.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner for literature often has the honor of lighting the candles on the head of Lucy for the city of Stockholm. Throughout Sweden, they celebrate the feast day of Lucy as a festival of lights with bonfires, incense, and candlelight parades. It is a mystery how honoring St. Lucy became so widespread in Scandinavia, given that Lucy was a native of Sicily. The tradition of honoring Lucy may have originated among the Vikings in Sweden. They traveled south on peaceful trading expeditions to Italy and brought back the stories of the early Christian martyr Lucia.
December 13th is one of the shortest days of the year. In popular piety, Lucy is perhaps most revered because her feast day was, for many centuries, the shortest day of the year. (The calendar reform by Pope Gregory VIII (1582) would shift the shortest day to December 21/22, depending upon the year.) On Lucy’s day, the light gradually returned, and the days lengthened. This was particularly powerful in northern Europe, where winter days were relatively short.
Therefore, the Scandinavians honor a young Sicilian girl, Lucy, whose name means “light,” during the darkest part of their year, as light is about to return. It is all a mystery, but the tradition is beautiful.
I especially remember this day because two friends who carried the light of Christ to so many people died on this day, seven years apart. So, in my prayers on St. Lucy’s Day, I remembered special friends who have brought light out of darkness to so many, and I treasured especially those in my own life who showed me the light in times of darkness.
My Advent prayer on St. Lucy’s Day is to remember those who brought the light of Christ, the light of God, and the light of the Spirit to us.
St. Lucy Day is an Advent tradition that the Scandinavians have given us to remember the light that shines in our darkness.
We can also bring this Advent practice home. In the past, our family often celebrated St. Lucy’s Day during the second week of Advent, with our oldest granddaughter serving buns at an Advent family service. She dresses in a white dress with a red sash and carries a candle (or her St. Lucy doll), as we all say, the traditional song Lucy sings on her rounds.
