LUCIA

Today, the 13th of December every year, we celebrate Lucia in Sweden, aparently an Italian tradition that no Italian person I have met have ever heard about.
Lucia is a saint, there are different stories about how she became a saint, I will tell you two that I know of...
1) She was a girl who lived in Syracusa on Scisily. She had long dark hair and was the most beautiful girl on the island, which made the other girls jealous. So they poked her eyes out, but she didnt die, they poured burning oil over her but she didnt die, the girls then stuck a sword through her throat, but still she didnt die.

2)The second story I heard is about a girl named Lucia who helped people who hid in catacombs during the war (I dont know which war) She brought them food on a tray, and since she didnt have any free hands to carry a candle, she made a crown which she put candles in to shine the dark paths in catacombes. So that the people would know it was her that came, she would sing whilst walking in the dark.

On this day we celebrate by eating saffronbuns and gingerbread cookies and listening to choires singing on the tv. One girl is "Lucia" and walks in the front, dressed in a white "night gown", a red ribbon tied around her waist and a crown with candles on her head. Behind her walks the "maids" (as brides maides, not cleaning maids), the "star lads" (who wears white cones on their heads, very similar to the "dummy" cones you see in cartoons from the sixties that disobidient children has to wear whilst standing in the naughty corner of the classroom) and sometimes there are little santas and ginger bread men, but that is normally just in the school version, I was a gingerbreadman once...
It is a big thing who gets to be the Lucia here in Sweden, it is always a very pretty girl who likes animals and are kind to children and the eldery. I was never elected to be Lucia, apart from the time when me, Mia and Sofie worked as aupairs, we thought it be a good idea to show our host families what this tadition meant. I cant recall that we had the actual gowns but I belive we were wrapped in sheets..and we didnt have a crown so I carried a candle in my hands instead.
Mia and Sofie tried to teach me some of the songs they had sung with their choir the previous year, I almost got it, but managed to get one note so out of tune that Mia laughed so hard she blew out her candle.

I just now googled Lucia to see if I get a third story about how and why we celebrate Lucia in this country. And why am I not surprised to find that today is the longest day of the year and here in Scandinavia we believe that "supernational powers" were extra strong on this day, we also belived that the animals could talk tonight. I am not sure what to say really.
I will however show you a clip from a traditional "Lucia train" and hope you like it.
Santa is coming soon!