Lucia's Festival in
Sweden
The 13th of December is Lucia's day. It has been that since Medieval times.
In the Catholic Church. Lucia is a Saint, and like all the other saints, she
has her own special day of the year. When the Swedes in the 16th century converted
to the Lutheran Teaching, the saints lost meaning in Sweden. It became illegal
to pray to saints. The icons in the churches were thrown out and burned. Only
the names of the saints were kept as names on days of the year. For example:
Nicolaus the 6th of December and Lucia the 13th of December. In our time, you
celebrate the holiday everywhere in Sweden. In many homes, schools and working
places, a girl dressed in white comes with candles in her hair. Mostly she is
followed by a group of white-dressed girls with candles in their hands and sparkles
in their hair. In most of the cities of Sweden, the Lucia train is held on the
evening of Lucia Day. The Lucia Holiday is now one of the holidays when young
people drink and fight.