Also called Saint Lucy's Day, St. Lucia is a
church fest day, celebrated on the 13th
December.[1]The festival is usually associated
with Scandinavia, but can be celebrated all
around the world. It happens, during the
celebration, that Saint Lucy comes as a young
girl or woman wearing a crown of candles,
followed by many other of the same age group,
each with a lit candle in their hand. This
article will provide you with some suggestions
for celebrating this day.
!! Steps !!
Schedule the day. Ask some kids in the neighborhood if they want to
participate, and their parents might also like to come and see them
while they're walking with the candles. Spend a little time giving
background information to the children so that they can understand
the point of Saint Lucy's Day (see "Tips").
* Be sure to schedule the celebration for the evening, when it's
already dark.
* Find an appropriate place, with sufficient space. It could be in
your garden, or in one of the parent's gardens.
* Be sure to tell the kids or their parents, who will be
participating, that they should wear completely white clothes, as
this is an important part of the tradition.
* Select one girl to be the main girl who will wear the candle crown
and lead the procession. If wished, you can also select one boy to
wear a star boy hat.
Make the Lucia Crown. This is fairly easy to
make; just be sure that it is sturdy and strong
as it needs to hold the candles in place on the
main girl's head.
* Form a circle of evergreen branches. Measure the main girl's head
to get the correct circumference on a template and follow the
template with the evergreen branches. Use florist wire to keep the
branches in place if needed.
* Insert seven candle holders into the circle of evergreen branches.
Insert white tapered candles of a small size, or use battery
powered light bulbs shaped as candles (these are considered much
safer than lighting real candles on a person's head).
* Be sure to check that the candles won't fall off the head of the
girl who will be wearing it. Try the whole thing on her head,
including candles (unlit if using real candles), and make
necessary adjustments before the event. If using artificial
candles, test that they are working properly before the event.
* Also, find lots of other white candles, for the other kids who
will be holding them in their hands.
Make traditional food and drink to serve to
the guests. The tradition for Saint Lucia's
Day is to serve a Lucia bread, Lucia buns, and
a drink of Juleglögg:
* Read How to make Lucia bread for instructions on making the
circular bread also known as St Lucy's crown.
* Read How to make Saint Lucia buns or bread (lussebullar) for
instructions on making the saffron buns that are served to
everyone on this occasion.
* Read How to make Swedish glogg for the instructions on making this
alcoholic beverage. Coffee is also acceptable, and juice for the
kids.
Learn the song and teach it to the kids. Listen to the Lucia song
in Swedish at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0FyZqNp5Q. The
words of the English version would be:
* Saint Lucia, bright clear mirage,
* spread in our winter splendor of your beauty.
* | |: Dreams with wings rustling, over us prophesy,
* light your white candles, Santa Lucia.: | |
* Get your white robe, gracious with your call.
* Give us, you Christmas Bride, an idea of Christmas.
* | |: Dreams with wings rustling over us prophesy,
* light your white candles, Santa Lucia.: | |
In the evening of celebration, celebrate in the
traditional way, as follows:
* Gather all the kids in a half circle, with the main girl in the
middle. Gather the parents who will be watching.
* Light all the candles and turn off all artificial lights. Give the
kids a sign so they start singing the song (you may need to help
them). Maybe it's a good idea if you have printed the lyrics out
on paper for each of them, especially if they haven't had much
practice.
* Film the event and take pictures of it, so that you can create a
good memory. Email these images to their parents after the event.
Hold a Saint Lucia party. A lovely way to celebrate inclusively
after the song, is to hold a small celebratory party. Take everyone
inside, and serve the Lucia Bread to kids and adults, the Juleglögg
to the adults, and give some juice to the kids.
* Decorate the table with evergreens, candles, and the food. Perhaps
make another Lucia Crown to serve as a table centerpiece.
* Have St. Lucy's Crown cake in the center of the table, and the
saffron buns (lussebullar), ginger cookies (luciapepparkakor), and
some sweets can be arranged across the rest of the table.
!! Video !!
!! Tips !!
* Use artificial candles to make it safer. Even if the main girl is
old enough and responsible enough to handle real candles,
accidents can happen when bumped or brushing against decorations,
etc.
* Talk to the kids about the background to St Lucy's Day. It is
celebrated in Scandinavia, namely Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and
Finland. It is also celebrated in Italy. It is said to have
originated as a way of celebrating a figure of late on the winter
solstice in Scandinavia (December 13th). In older times, unmarried
girls would ask St. Lucia to tell them who their future husbands
would be on this day. Candles provide the illumination for
promising that light will return after the darkness.
* Read How to make a St. Lucia wreath for the instructions on making
a paper version of the head wreath.
!! Warnings !!
* Be extremely careful if you're using real lit candles. It is not
recommended to use lit candles near a person's head or hair.
!! Things You\'ll Need !!
* Circle of evergreens
* Many white candles (depending on how many kids are participating)
* Ingredients for Lucia bread
* Ingredients for Juleglögg
* Juice for the kids
* Lyrics of the song printed out on paper for all the kids
* A camera or cellphone to film and take pictures
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Celebrate Christmas
* How to Make Ornamental Pine Cones for Christmas
* How to Pick out a Christmas Tree
* How to Have a Good Family Life
* How to Get Neighborhood Children to Knock Before Entering
* How to Organize a Neighborhood Yard Sale
!! Sources And Citations !!
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day – research source
* http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/ys/misc/stlucia.htm – research source
* Debra Frick, St. Lucia's Day Festival,
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf22799794.tip.html – research source
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