13 december - Sankta Lucia
This morning around 6.15 AM eight male singing housemates walked into my room. One of them wore a crown with (fake) candles one his head, one was dressed up as Santa, one as a real-size Christmas present and the rest wore white robes. All had a candle in their hand and after performing another song, they started again with the first one and marched out, while one told me to come to breakfast somewhat later.
At 6.45 AM, the living room was filled with guys in these strange clothes, sleepy girls in pajamas, who ate fresh risegrynsgrött (rice porridge), lussekatter glögg (non-alcoholic, don't worry), bread and pepparkakor.
This, dear non-Swedish friends, is December 13th in Sweden (or at least, in my brilliant student house): Sankta Lucia.
Now as this is one of the better-known Swedish traditions, you might already know about the odd tradition that a country that for the rest doesn't have too much with saints, one day of the year suddenly focuses on the life of an Italian (yes) Saint that lived sometime in the early 4th century. But who was she?
As I got to know yesterday in church, Lucia, born on Sicily in 283, was part of a wealthy family and could have lived an easy and comfortable life. But she chose otherwise. According to the myth a pious Christian, she brought food to the poor in prison. Desiring to bring as much as she could, she placed a candle on her head, so that she would have both her arms free to carry. When she refused to marry the husband that had been chosen for her, she ended up in trouble and died a martyr's death in 304. (Thence the red color yesterday in church.)
In some strange way, about a century ago the tradition of celebrating Lucia came to Sweden and lost most of its religiousity. Every company, school or even house has a 'Luciatåg' - a group of girls (and often also guys, who wear funny-looking starhats) that dress up in white robes and sing songs for parents/family/colleagues/elderly. The candle lights that they carry with them are very welcome in a country where it even in the uttermost south here starts going dark around 3.30 PM. And of course, it's exciting to see who gets to be Lucia. (Thence the happines of the high-school girl that got to be Lund's official Lucia this year.)
Apart from that, one has to eat abovementioned Lussekatter on Lucia - yummy saffran buns.
The Lucia melody turns out to have at least three different Swedish texts, popularity largely depending on one's age. But this is how it sounded a few year ago at the national concert.
At 6.45 AM, the living room was filled with guys in these strange clothes, sleepy girls in pajamas, who ate fresh risegrynsgrött (rice porridge), lussekatter glögg (non-alcoholic, don't worry), bread and pepparkakor.
This, dear non-Swedish friends, is December 13th in Sweden (or at least, in my brilliant student house): Sankta Lucia.
Now as this is one of the better-known Swedish traditions, you might already know about the odd tradition that a country that for the rest doesn't have too much with saints, one day of the year suddenly focuses on the life of an Italian (yes) Saint that lived sometime in the early 4th century. But who was she?
As I got to know yesterday in church, Lucia, born on Sicily in 283, was part of a wealthy family and could have lived an easy and comfortable life. But she chose otherwise. According to the myth a pious Christian, she brought food to the poor in prison. Desiring to bring as much as she could, she placed a candle on her head, so that she would have both her arms free to carry. When she refused to marry the husband that had been chosen for her, she ended up in trouble and died a martyr's death in 304. (Thence the red color yesterday in church.)
In some strange way, about a century ago the tradition of celebrating Lucia came to Sweden and lost most of its religiousity. Every company, school or even house has a 'Luciatåg' - a group of girls (and often also guys, who wear funny-looking starhats) that dress up in white robes and sing songs for parents/family/colleagues/elderly. The candle lights that they carry with them are very welcome in a country where it even in the uttermost south here starts going dark around 3.30 PM. And of course, it's exciting to see who gets to be Lucia. (Thence the happines of the high-school girl that got to be Lund's official Lucia this year.)
Apart from that, one has to eat abovementioned Lussekatter on Lucia - yummy saffran buns.
The Lucia melody turns out to have at least three different Swedish texts, popularity largely depending on one's age. But this is how it sounded a few year ago at the national concert.
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We ended our breakfast with watching a part of the national concert, which was being broadcasted on national television at 7 AM.
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