December 13th: Saint Lucia Day in Stockholm

Lucia at Stockholm's Storkyrkan, December 13, 2013

Lussekatter for sale in a
Stockholm supermarket

On December 13^th Sweden celebrates the feast day of St. Lucia, the patron saint of light. It’s easy to see why Lucia is so popular here in this land of winter darkness. As the winter solstice grows nearer, the hours of daylight get shorter (today, December 13th, the sun set at 2:46 pm in Stockholm). On this day in many Swedish homes, the eldest daughter of the household portrays Lucia, wearing a long white gown and a crown of evergreen and lighted candles. She rises before dawn and awakens the family with coffee and freshly baked traditional saffron buns called lussekatter. 

I learned about Sweden’s Lucia tradition many years ago attending a wonderful Lucia Fest pageant that was put on by the Church of St. James Kingsessing in Philadelphia. St. James is one of the old Swedish churches in the area, founded in 1760 by Swedish Lutheran missionaries. Jim and I went together to St. James' Lucia Fest. I was a college student at the time, and Jim was my new boyfriend! We loved this beautiful event so much that years later we helped start a Lucia Fest pageant at Muhlenberg College, where Jim teaches. Faculty and staff kids play the parts, and a local Scandinavian organization, the Viking Lodge #735, is our choir. This year Muhlenberg’s Lucia Fest was on December 1st- celebrating its 34th year! 

Muhlenberg College Lucia Fest, 2013

Gamla Stan Stjarngosse

We came to Stockholm to experience Lucia Day, and thanks to a Swedish lady named Ulla who sings in our Lucia Fest choir, we secured tickets to the beautiful Luciakonsert at Storkyrkan, Stockholm’s Cathedral in Gamla Stan. Ulla’s friend Lotta, who lives near Stockholm, bought the tickets for us. Before the concert we were to meet in front of the Nobel Museum in the Old Town. While we waited for Lotta, a young boy who was dressed as a Stjarngosse (Star Boy) was singing Lucia hymns on the steps of the museum. His voice was beautiful, as was the setting. When he finished his singing he blew out his candle and disappeared into the night…

When Lotta arrived we walked through the Old Town to Den Glydene Freden (The Golden Peace), one of Sweden's most well-known restaurants. It has been in business since 1722, and has remained pretty much unchanged since then. We started with delicious glögg in little glass cups, and then enjoyed a wonderful traditional meal of Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce.

Lotta leads us into Den Glydene Freden for a delicious meal of
Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce

Den Glydene Freden Lucia serenade

The interior of the restaurant is so beautiful, lots of wood paneling, lit by candlelight. Before we left we had a great surprise- Lucia appeared with her attendants and we were serenaded! 

Storkyrkan Lucia with Attendants and Stjarngosser

After dinner we walked uphill to the Cathedral through Gamla Stan's lantern lit streets. Inside the church we met Lotta's friend Inger. It was the first time either of them had been to Storkyrkan's Luciakonsert. Lotta had reserved great seats for us, close to the front of the Cathedral. The Luciakonsert choir was made up of students from two Stockholm Music schools. They were so amazing- sweet, clear voices that combined to make an absolutely heavenly sound in that wonderful place. They sang for nearly an hour and a half, with each child holding a lighted candle the whole time. Early on Lucia appeared in the center aisle, led by two violinists. She was breathtakingly beautiful, moving slowly towards the altar in her crown of glowing candles, accompanied by the music of the violins. She remained on the altar for a very long time- unmoving- lit by the flickering candles in her crown. 

At the end of the concert Lucia led the procession of singers down the center aisle. They were singing Sankta Lucia, an old song with a haunting melody. I was overwhelmed by the incredible beauty of the moment…I got a little weepy. Jim teased me about the tears (but told me I wasn't the only one weeping- lots of us were wiping our eyes). I will never forget the wonderful beauty of that scene, or the lovely voices that gave us the gift of this memorable experience.

Our new Swedish friends

When the Luciakonsert was over we wandered back through the streets of the Old Town and found a cozy tavern to share a bottle of red wine together. We had a great conversation in that place, and learned more about our new Swedish friends. We had only spent one evening in Stockholm with them, but after our magical Lucia experience at the Storkyrkan together, they felt like old friends…




I'll share another beautiful Lucia day experience I had in Stockholm with you: here's a video I made in Gamla Stan in the afternoon. Walking on one of the old cobbled streets I passed two girls who were standing in a doorway, singing Christmas songs. They wore Santa hats trimmed with silver tinsel garland, and they were holding lighted candles. I asked if they would sing Sankta Lucia. They were very happy to oblige, and delighted that I was going to film their song! Here it is, a lovely Lucia happening in Stockholm's Gamla Stan on December 13, 2013: