Lucia revisited

Lucia celebrations on 13 December bring a gleamof light in the winter darkness. When there is hardlyany daylight at all in the northern hemisphere,Lucia comes with hope of brighter times.The stately procession with a white-clad Luciaaccompanied by her maids, star boys, and sometimeselves became comm [...]
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Lucia celebrations on 13 December bring a gleamof light in the winter darkness. When there is hardlyany daylight at all in the northern hemisphere,Lucia comes with hope of brighter times.The stately procession with a white-clad Luciaaccompanied by her maids, star boys, and sometimeselves became common in the 1950s. But the feast of Luciagoes back much further in history, and it is one of the mostvaried traditions in Sweden. The celebrations can betraced back to several periods, places, and religions, andover the years it has been both simple and sumptuous,humorous and serious, innocent and indecent, sacred andprofane, popular and aristocratic, private and public.Lucia provokes debate when many people claim to knowhow it should be celebrated, who should take part, and inwhat roles. This book spreads new light on a familiartradition and invites further discussion.LENA KÄTTSTRÖM HÖÖK is an ethnologist andcurator at the Nordic Museum, with responsibilityfor traditions and special occasions.