Monday, December 24, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Santa Lucia
Inspired by my sister and my Swedish heritage, I've decided I want to have a Santa Lucia tradition during the Christmas season. This year was our first year.
The stories and legends of Santa Lucia are all over the place, but by focusing only on Swedish history, this is the legend I pieced together that I want to share for the inspiration of this tradition. Santa Lucia lived around 300 AD and was the daughter of a wealthy Christian family. She devoted her life to serving the poor and praising God in a time when Christianity was outlawed. The legend goes that she would bring food to the shunned, poor Christians hiding in the catacombs of Rome. It would be dark and her hands were full of food, so she wore a crown of candles on her head to see.
Decades later in Sweden during a severe winter famine, there is a story of a brightly lit ship sailing into a harbor. At the front of the ship was a beautiful woman wearing white with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head. She brought with her a boat full of food to relieve the hungry Swedes. She called herself Lucia and left as quickly as she came.
Santa Lucia's story is a reminder both of the courage it takes to stand up for what you believe in (Santa Lucia eventually was killed because she was a Christian), and also reminder to serve those less fortunate than us. These are the lessons I want my kids to remember in the middle of the Christmas season, so that is why on December 13th we will celebrate Santa Lucia.
Here is our Santa Lucia bringing us cinnamon rolls for breakfast with a crown of candles.
The stories and legends of Santa Lucia are all over the place, but by focusing only on Swedish history, this is the legend I pieced together that I want to share for the inspiration of this tradition. Santa Lucia lived around 300 AD and was the daughter of a wealthy Christian family. She devoted her life to serving the poor and praising God in a time when Christianity was outlawed. The legend goes that she would bring food to the shunned, poor Christians hiding in the catacombs of Rome. It would be dark and her hands were full of food, so she wore a crown of candles on her head to see.
Decades later in Sweden during a severe winter famine, there is a story of a brightly lit ship sailing into a harbor. At the front of the ship was a beautiful woman wearing white with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head. She brought with her a boat full of food to relieve the hungry Swedes. She called herself Lucia and left as quickly as she came.
Santa Lucia's story is a reminder both of the courage it takes to stand up for what you believe in (Santa Lucia eventually was killed because she was a Christian), and also reminder to serve those less fortunate than us. These are the lessons I want my kids to remember in the middle of the Christmas season, so that is why on December 13th we will celebrate Santa Lucia.
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