IKKUNA NEWS: December 13th is the day that people from all over the world honor the legend of Saint Lucia. For many, many years Lucia has brought faith, hope, and a reason to believe in good things to come.
It is traditionally a feast day from the Calendar of Saints which comes from the early Christian custom of commemorating martyrs. December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old ’Julian’ Calendar and a pagan festival of lights was turned into Saint Lucia’s Day.
St. Lucia’s Day first became widely celebrated in the late 1700s. St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Bosnia, and Croatia.
It is mostly a Scandinavian tradition which is celebrated by the Swedish speaking community in Finland. It is widely celebrated in Ostrobothnia. Every municipality elects its own Lucia for the candle lit procession on the 13th of December.
The legend. Saint Lucia’s legend stems from Syracuse on the island of Sicily. It is thought that during a time when the rulers of the land did not look favourably upon Christianity, a woman named Lucia had devoted her life to God and the poor.
She gave her entire dowry to the poor, and the man she was to marry was very upset by this. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things meant for the poor. Lucy means ’light’ and hence the candles and the candle lit processions.
Lucia was put on trial for her faith but she refused to renounce her Christian beliefs and was declared a witch. She was to be burned at the stake but when the guards tried to light the fire it would not light.
Ultimately, she was stabbed and was persecuted for her faith and eventually died a martyr in the year 304 AD. From then on, Lucia was known as the great patron saint of light, Saint Lucia.
The celebration. St. Lucia’s Day is now celebrated by a girl dressing in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a crown of candles on her head. Small children use electric candles but from about 12 years old, real candles are used.
The crown is made of Lingonberry branches which are evergreen and symbolise new life in winter. Schools normally have their own St. Lucia’s and some town and villages also choose a girl to play St. Lucia in a procession where carols are sung.
A national Lucia is also chosen on a procession in front of the Parliament in Helsinki on the 13th of December. The festival begins with a procession led by the St. Lucia, who is followed by young girls dressed in white and wearing lighted wreaths on their heads and boys dressed in white pajama-like costume singing traditional songs.
A popular food eaten for the celebration are St. Lucia’s day buns flavoured with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for breakfast. Some girls dress up as Lucia and visit hospitals and people’s homes to distribute ginger bread.
Rathan Kumar