St. Lucia’s Day is a festival of light in the darkest days of winter. Here’s how we as Protestants celebrate her day and pass on her spirit of generosity. Be sure to download your free PDF printable guide with activities and more below!
I first learned of the celebration of Saint Lucia when I read The Kirsten American Girl books as a child.
Like many Americans, I knew nothing of Saints days outside of St. Patrick’s Day. But the beautiful traditions of St. Lucia’s Day immediately captivated me. White gowns with red sashes, a literal crown of candles, and bringing baskets of homemade goodies to friends, as well as the incredible story of St. Lucia captured my 9-year old imagination.
Who Was St. Lucia?
Also known as Santa Lucia, Saint Lucy of Syracuse, and Saint Lukia, she was the daughter of a Roman nobleman and a Greek woman named Eutychia, and was born in 283 A.D. and martyred in 304 A.D.
There are many legends surrounding her life. With her having lived so long ago, it’s sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. Even so, there are certain elements that are consistent throughout different traditions.
She pledged to remain unmarried and serve the needy.
It’s believed that she convinced her mother to let her stay unwed and even use her dowry to give to the poor. Some say her would-be lover did not take kindly to being jilted and turned her over to the authorities.
She was a steadfast Christian in a hostile environment.
Diocletian is one of the most notorious Roman emperors in history. Christians had to meet in secret and and even flee for their lives. Lucia risked her life helping these poor souls.
She prayed for her mother to be healed.
Under the cover of darkness, it is believed that Lucia convinced her sickly mother to come with her to the tomb of St. Agatha to pray. The story goes that she pledged she would commit her life to serving the poor and remain unwed if her mother was healed. It seems her prayers were answered and Eutychia was indeed healed.
She took food and supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs.
According to most accounts, Lucia wore a wreath with lit candles on her head to light the way through the pitch black catacombs, her arms laden with gifts for the hiding Christians.
She represents light in the darkness.
Lucia is the most celebrated saint in Sweden. They honor her with the Festival of Lights every year on her feast day, December 13th. In addition to her glowing crown of candles, Lucia’s name (from the Latin lux) means light, representing hope. Furthermore, Lucia’s festival is celebrated in the darkest part of winter. I highly recommend watching a St. Lucia procession on YouTube if you don’t have one anywhere near you.
St. Lucia’s Day Traditions
Baking
Baking bread, cookies and other goodies represents the wheat Lucia brought to the poor Christians in hiding. Winter and Advent are already so well suited to baking and even more so with this tradition in mind.
Lussekatter
Similarly, Lucia buns or Lussekatter, are ‘S’ shaped yeast buns that are synonymous with St. Lucia’s Day. Lussekatter, which means “Lucia cats”, are shaped to look like a cat’s tail and again represent the wheat that Lucia brought to the Christians. They are lightly sweet, soft and fluffy. Some complain of them turning out dense, but they are not meant to be. This was my first year attempting them and they turned out perfectly thanks to this recipe. Lucia buns are traditionally made with saffron. I omitted because I didn’t want to take out a second mortgage on my house 🙂 (re: saffron is expensive). But aren’t they gorgeous??
Lucia, Handmaids and Star Boys
An important part of the celebration in Sweden is for children and young people to dress as Lucia, her attendants (or ‘handmaids’) and ‘Star Boys’. There may be multiple Star Boys and hand maids, but only Lucia wears the crown. Furthermore, within the home, the oldest daughter traditionally plays the part of Lucia and has the honor of making and serving the Lussekatter to her family. The parents even get breakfast in bed!
Giving Gifts to Friends and Loved Ones
To honor Lucia’s generosity, many families celebrate her feast day by giving out little gifts to friends, family and coworkers. In my family, we always chose a few people or other families to bring a gift basket to. We included the traditional baked goods as well as things like popcorn, candles, hot cocoa mix and other handmade gifts.
Why Celebrate St. Lucia’s Day
Not only is St. Lucia’s Day a fun holiday tradition, it also has many beautiful symbols and lessons for us to learn from. St. Lucia’s sacrifice and dedication to the poor is incredibly inspiring and helps families to reflect on the true spirit of the holiday season rather than the commercialization we now associate with this time of year.
I loved this celebration growing up and now my children do as well. And you don’t need to be Catholic or Orthodox Christian to enjoy these traditions.
In fact, Protestants are seeming more and more to reembrace Church history and learn from the early fathers and traditions. I think this is wonderful. There is so much rich history to learn and these old traditions and rituals can help connect us on a deeper level not only to Christians of the past but also to Christ Himself!
Finally, below you’ll find a free resource I created that can help you begin the celebration of St. Lucia in your home. It includes activities to do alongside your children, a printable story of St. Lucia, ideas for filling a Lucia basket for friends and more.
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I hope you find it helpful and inspiring. Happy Saint Lucia’s Day!
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