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Swedish
Lucia |
Lucia
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Lucia
is celebrated on the 13th of December. Originally the day
was dedicated to St. Lucia of Syracuse, but the Swedish holiday
seems to have little to do with her person. According to
folk tradition, this date marked the longest night of the year -
an artifact of the medieval calendar. It was thus a time
when Man and beast needed extra nourishment. Originally,
only men celebrated this festival, with much food and drink.
Documents from the late eighteenth century, however, tell of young
girls, dressed in white with crowns of candles in their hair,
serving the master and mistress. This ceremony has since
spread, not least through the activities of clubs and mass
voluntary organizations. When, in the 1920s, a Stockholm
newspaper arranged a contest to choose a Lucia-girl to represent
the city, the custom spread like wildfire.
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Lucia
morning is celebrated in practically every Swedish home, and every
community, office, school or club chooses a Lucia, who - dressed
in a white gown and with a crown of candles in her hair - brings a
tray of coffee, traditionally shaped saffron rolls, and ginger
biscuits. Lucia sometimes serves glögg, a mulled
wine. She is generally accompanied by a train of white-clad
attendants, the girls wearing glitter in their hair and the boys
wearing tall paper cones with stars on them. All sing the
traditional Lucia
carols.
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Source:
"Traditional Festivities in Sweden"; Author: Ingemar
Liman; Published by: The Swedish Institute, ISBN 91-520-0113-X
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