Lucia

So, today is known as the Lucia day in Sweden. Of course I could tell you how we celebrate it, but that is much better explained in this video

Every year on social media, this tradition is said to be under threat. From what is often quite unclear, but it has been a decline in interest for public Lucia competitions and I have a theory as to why. But first I feel a need to talk about the history of the tradition.

"Sankta Lucia. Ljusklara hägring. Sprid i vår vinternatt, glans av din fägring " (Saint Lucia, Bright mirage. Spread in our winter's night, gloss of your beauty.)

~ Sankta Lucia

Lucia is a variation of the Latin word Lux which means light and in the Julian calendar, 13th of December was the winter solstice and therefore the night was the longest one of the year. According to folklore, a lot of bad spirits were roaming around during this night and legend tells of a demon-like woman called Lussi or Lussekärringen (in the province Västergötland the legend instead speaks of  man called Lussegubben though) who came riding together with her followers called lussiferda. It was also a night when the animals started to talk. 

Everyone can be a lucia!

Lucia is a Sicilian saint in the Roman-Catholic church who lived in Syracuse during the 4th century AD. However, the Swedish Lucia celebration (which today has spread to the Finno-Swedish population of Finland, Norway and Denmark) has little to do with her. The celebration is actually a mix of both Christian and Pagan traditions. Lucia marked the beginning of the christmas celebrations and in the past it was thought that the preparations needed to be finished by then. Swedes celebrated this by eating and drinking a little extra. The 13th of December was also the day when Swedes slaughtered the so called christmas pig to make the ham which is one of the major dishes in the Swedish christmas dinner. The christmas pig is thought of as to symbolise the pig Särimner from Norse mythology. Särimner is the pig who gets slaughtered every evening in Odin's hall Valhalla, but resurrects every morning just to get slaughtered (and eaten) again by the dead warriors.

The modern Lucia celebration is thought to have its origin in Western Sweden (in the regions kring the lake Vänern in the provinces Dalsland, Bohuslän, Västergötland and Värmland). From there, male students (since there were no female ones at that time) spread it to Uppsala and Lund where they went to university in the late 18th and early 19th century. There they held Lucia performances for their professors. Yes, traditionally it has been common with a male Lucia!

Lussekatter

Saffron buns called lussekatter (translated directly it is "lusse cats") are served during Lucia. This is a German tradition dating back to the 17th century where a legend said that the devil (sometimes refered to as Lucifer) went around as a cat spanking children. At the same time, Jesus went around offering buns to the children. They were stuffed with saffron to ward off the devil from the light colour.

"Staffan var en stalledräng. Vi tackom nu så gärna. Han vattna' sina fålar fem. Allt för den ljusa stjärna. Ingen dager synes än. Stjärnorna på himmelen de blänka." (Staffan was a stable boy. We gladly thank how now. He watered his five horses. Everything for the bright star. No day can yet be seen. The stars in the sky they glitter.)

~ Sankta Lucia

Stjärngossar

Except for Lucia, there are a, traditionally male, character in the Lucia celebration called stjärngosse (star boy). The tradition with this character is actually related to dramatized versions of the birth of Jesus during Twelth Night when the Three Wise Men reach the stable where Jesus is supposed to have been born. Since Twelth Night has losts its importance in Sweden, we have somehow chosen to put stjärngossarna into the Lucia celebration instead. Unfortunatelly, I have not been able to find any answer to the question why this change occured or why they sing the Medieval ballad about king Herod's stable boy Stefanus: Staffan var en stalledräng, but I guess it is just one of those things that happened when traditions adapts to a new reality.

I think it is very important that we actually study from where traditions like the Lucia celebrations come and even more to see how it has changed over time. I have talked about my view on culture as always ongoing negotiatons of sociability before in my entries about the Samish hat adorned with Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and chess. Considering all the memes and discussion there is every christmas about the "threatened" Lucia tradition I think Lucia is actually a great illustration for this. The Lucia celebration will change with time. That thing is clear! Every tradition does and it is totally natural. The celebration still has social value though. It is still extremely popular in schools and work places and such all over Sweden. There has been a decline in "official" Lucia competitions however, but I would not say that this has anything to do with Lucia celebration itself. Instead I think it has to do with the similarities between Lucia competitions and beauty pageants. The latter seems to have lost its social value in Sweden in later years which I think actually is something that we should be happy about.

Lucia celebration, the cat version

Picture of the lussekatter was borrowed from here.