Saint Lucia
A blurry but still sweet picture of my eldest daughter dressed in her Lucia clothing some years ago. December 13th is Saint Lucia Day. It's celebrated widely in Scandinavia with children wearing long white shirts, tinsel and candles. Generally, the eldest girl in the barnehage (kindergarten) will be wearing a crown of candles. Not real candles, of course, but battery powered candles. Lussekatter, saffron buns with raisins, are passed out from baskets to be eaten. Delicious lussekatter. As history has it, Saint Lucy was a girl who was a martyr. She would bring bread to persecuted Christians in Rome at night. To keep both hands free, she wore a crown of candles to light her way through the darkness. Lucy is a perfectly fitted name meaning light.