SANTA LUCIA BRINGS LIGHT TO A DARK AND DREARY WORLD

I first learned about Santa Lucia during my freshman year at the University of Washington. Because half my DNA was Swedish, and for some other crazy reasons I won’t go into here, I found myself studying Swedish language and literature. Let’s just say that Dr. Walter Johnson, head of the small department, was quite persuasive.

I knew very little about my father’s Swedish relatives, but by immersing myself in the language I began to explore my roots, and December 13 found me and a number of other girls in the department getting ready for the annual Santa Lucia Pageant held in a large social hall across the street from campus. I was to be one of the attendants, gowned in white, with tinsel in my hair and a plate of cookies in my hand. The girl chosen to be the Lucia was a striking dark blonde, also dressed in a long white gown. On her head would be a crown of lighted candles, and she too would be carrying cookies. An engaging little guy dressed in red pranced along in front, playing the role of Tomten, the elf equivalent of Santa. The lights were dimmed, the hauntingly beautiful Santa Lucia song began to play, and we processed in, our faces aglow as we reenacted once again a tradition going back generations.

I didn’t realize then how important this tradition would become in my life. I went on to spend my junior year at the University of Stockholm where I was chosen to be the Santa Lucia, returning to be given the honor yet again at the U.W.

What is it really all about? In Sweden the festival of Santa Lucia begins on December 13. With the winter solstice approaching it signifies the coming of light to a dark and dreary world as well as the beginning of “Jul” or Christmas. Stories abound about how the tradition came to Sweden, but it originated in Sicily in about 300 AD. Legend has it that there a Christian girl named Lucia was blinded and slain because of her ministrations to the poor, attaining martyrdom. However it came to Sweden, Santa Lucia pageants are held all across the country on or close to the thirteenth. On that morning the music of Santa Lucia is heard everywhere as white robed girls with lighted candles on their heads reenact the age old story to honor the martyred saint.

In homes all over Sweden children wake up in excitement as they prepare to wake their parents with candlelight, singing, coffee and special saffron buns. The oldest daughter gets to wear the crown of lighted candles. Younger daughters wear tinsel in their hair. Sons become star boys, wearing pointed hats and carrying star tipped rods as they parade through the house.

Now on or about December 13 one can find the Santa Lucia reenactment from Stockholm to Seattle, from Fresno to New York City and in locations all over the world. For the past twenty years my husband and I staged a Santa Lucia party for a large group of friends and family. Over the years I had gathered enough long white dresses in many sizes and mens’ shirts, so that whoever showed up could participate. After dinner, the children were all ushered into a back room to assume their roles for the pageant. The oldest girl there became the Lucia, while the others were attendants or princesses and star boys. It was a holiday highlight for many, and with the passing of so many years, children who once played a part, now had children of their own doing the same. After processing throughout the house to the old familiar Santa Lucia song, passing out cookies as they went, the group was positioned for picture taking, and must certainly have felt important to be the center of so much adulation and attention. Glogg, a potent spiced wine, was then set aflame, and served as a fitting end to our annual festival of light.

For years in December as a teacher I gathered up my costumes, battery operated crowns, tinsel, star hats, and cookies and reenacted the Santa Lucia pageant at our school's holiday assembly. The students in this inner city school were predominantly African-American, and I like to think that their exposure to this Swedish tradition was an important part of their multi-cultural growth.

Now retired, I will be subbing tomorrow in a class where the teacher is allowing me to bring in some of my own ideas for the day. So once again I am gathering up my crowns, gowns, and cookies to bring the tradition alive for still another audience. Santa Lucia will shed her light on a new crop of students, hopefully promoting multicultural understanding in a warm and caring fashion.

To see more about the story and to hear the Santa Lucia song being sung, click on the following site. It might touch your heart and bring you joy.

http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/santa-lucia-day-song-and-saying-why-its-a-festival-of-light/