St Lucia Day

When: Every year on December 13

Lucia means “light”. On December 13, families in Sweden and nearby countries welcome the light in the dark of winter with candles, songs and saffron buns. The day remembers St Lucy, a young Christian woman from Sicily.

Where it came from

Lucy lived in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, and died around the year 304, during a time when Christians were being persecuted. Her name comes from the Latin word for light, lux. Because of her name, she became a symbol of light, and people also remember her as a patron of people with trouble seeing.

In the old Julian calendar, December 13 was close to the shortest day of the year. That is one reason the day of Lucy became a festival of light in the dark north. In Sweden, a kind of Lucia procession is known from the 1700s, and in the 1920s it became the national tradition that is loved today, with a girl chosen as “Lucia” in each town.

How it is kept around the world

• Sweden. Early on December 13, a girl in a white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles (often battery ones today) leads a procession of children singing “Sankta Lucia”. Families serve saffron buns, called lussekatter, and warm drinks.
• Norway, Denmark and Finland. Similar processions are held in schools, churches and homes, often in the dark of early morning.
• Italy. In Syracuse, Sicily, a big procession carries Lucy's statue through the streets on December 13. In some places people eat a wheat pudding called cuccìa.
• Swedish and Norwegian churches abroad. Communities of Swedish and Norwegian families in the United States and elsewhere hold Lucia festivals every December.
• Croatia and other lands. In parts of Croatia, children plant wheat on December 13. If it grows green and tall by Christmas, it is a sign of a good year.

Christians differ

Lucia is kept by Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox Christians. In Sweden, a mostly Lutheran country, many people enjoy it as both a church and a cultural tradition, and not everyone who takes part is a churchgoer. Some Christians prefer to avoid saint days, but may still enjoy the festival of light.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2

• Sit in a darkened room with a battery candle and a soft song.
• Say “light” when a lamp turns on.

Ages 3 to 5

• Make a paper crown with yellow flames and wear it for a short procession around the house.
• Bake or share a sweet bun and talk about the light of Christmas.

Ages 6 to 8

• Learn the first verse of “Sankta Lucia” or another light song.
• Find Syracuse and Stockholm on a map and compare how much daylight each gets in December.

Ages 9 to 12

• Look up the hours of daylight in Sweden and where you live on December 13. Draw a graph.
• Read John 8:12 and 1:5. What do they say about light?

Ages 13 to 17

• Interview someone about a festival of light from their culture, such as Hanukkah, Diwali or Lucia. What do they share?
• Write about a time when someone's kindness felt like light.

A short prayer

God of light, shine in the dark places of the world and of our hearts. Help us to be a little light for others. Amen.

Mark as done

Where this comes from

• F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), entry “Lucy, St”
• Nordiska museet (Stockholm), material on the history of Lucia celebrations in Sweden
• Swedish Institute, sweden.se, “Lucia: the Swedish festival of light”

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.