Santa Lucia Day

December 13: Santa Lucia Day | Little Yule

Santa Lucia Day

Santa Lucia Day or Little Yule is celebrated on December 13. Santa Lucia (St. Lucy) was a young girl in Syracuse, Sicily, who lost her life during the persecution of Christians in the early 4th century. There’s little known of her except that she was brave. But legends grew over time. It’s believed she brought food to Christians hiding in the catacombs. She used use a candle-lit wreath to light her way, leaving her hands free to carry food.

Another story states that she had vowed her life to the service of Christ. However, her mother arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucia rejected her would-be husband and he denounced her to the authorities. They tried to drag her off to a brothel to work as a prostitute. However, the guards were unable to move the her as she was stiff and heavy as a mountain. As a result she was tortured, lit on fire, and killed.

St. Lucia’s Feast Day once coincided with Winter Solstice (before the calendar reform), and her feast day became a festival of light. Interestingly, Lucia means light. St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated mostly in Scandinavia where the winters are long and dark. In Sweden, she is remembered as young girls dress in white with brilliant red sashes and a wreath of candles about their heads (today the candles are battery operated). The eldest girl delivers a tray of saffron buns and coffee or tea to the parents. Boys also dress in white with white pointed hats covered with stars. They are called Star Boys. There are many pageants and one girl has the honor of being the “Lucia Bride” and leads the pageant with the other children following.

In northern Italy, St. Lucia Day is celebrated similarly to St. Nicholas Day. St. Lucia comes to town with a donkey and her escort, Castaldo. Children leave coffee for Lucia, flour for the donkey, and bread for Castaldo. St. Lucia leaves gifts in return. In the city of Siracusa, there’s a week long celebration with festivities, fireworks, sweets, and the vow not to eat pasta or bread.

In Finland, Luciadagen is observed a week before the Winter Solstice. St. Lucy is celebrated as a “beacon of brightness” in the darkest time of year.

In Norway, this use to be known as Lussinatten. On the longest night of the year, no work was to be done. Lussi, a feared enchantress, punished anyone who dared to work. According to legend, farm animals talked to each other on this night.

St. Lucia Buns
Also known as Lussekatter or Lucia cats.

makes approximately 2 dozen buns
7 tablespoons melted butter
1-1/4 cup milk
saffron threads, about 0.5 grams
3, 6 oz. cakes fresh yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
plus additional flour for kneading
4 dozen raisins
glaze
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk

Melt butter in a pan. Add milk and saffron. Warm the mixture to 37C/100F. Crumble the yeast and pour the warm milk mixture over the top. Add sugar, salt, egg, and flour. Mix until dough is smooth. Cover dough and let it rest in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Knead dough and divide into 25-30 pieces. Form each piece into a round bun. Cover the buns and let 5 minutes. Roll each bun into a rope and shape them as desired, an “S” or a criss-crossing “S” is traditional. The ends of the dough should curl in. Place on baking sheets, cover, and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Place one raisin in the center of each spiral, that’s two raisins per roll. Meanwhile preheat oven to 475F. Whisk egg and milk together, then brush the tops of the buns. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brownish yellow.

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⇴ image from Claudia Gründer, wikipedia, (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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