Saint Lucy's Day

Saint Lucia's Day (sometimes Lucy for short) is the Church feast day dedicated to Saint Lucy and is observed on the 13th of December. Its modern day celebration is generally associated with Sweden and Norway but is also observed in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Spain and St. Lucia, West Indies. In the United States it is celebrated with cookies on the mantel in states for a large number of people of Scandinavian ancestry, often centered around church events. In traditional celebrations, Saint Lucy comes as a young woman with lights and sweets. It is one of the few saint days observed in Scandinavia. In some forms, a procession is headed by one girl wearing a crown of candles (or lights), while others in the procession hold only a single candle each.
(Wikipedia)

Saint Lucy (283–304), also known as Saint Lucia or Santa Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from Lux, Lucis meaning "Light", as she is the patron saint of those who are blind. Saint Lucy is one of the few saints celebrated by members of the Lutheran Church among the Scandinavian peoples, who take part in Saint Lucy's Day celebrations that retain many elements of Germanic paganism.
Saint Lucy is one of seven women, aside from the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. Hagiography states that Lucy was a Christian martyr during the Diocletian persecution. She consecrated her virginity to God through pious works^[3] refused to marry a pagan betrothed, and had her wedding dowry distributed to the poor. Her betrothed pagan groom denounced her as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse, Sicily. Miraculously unable to move her or burn her, the guards took out her eyes with a fork. In another version, Lucy's betrothed admired her eyes, so she tore them out and gave them to him, saying, "Now let me live to God".


The oldest record of her story comes from the fifth-century accounts of saints' lives.^[3] By the 6th century, her story was widespread, so that she appears in the Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I.^[4] At the opening of the 8th century Aldhelm included a brief account of her life among the virgins praised in De laude virginitatis, and in the following century the Venerable Bede included her in his Martyrology.^[5] In medieval accounts, Saint Lucy's eyes are gouged out prior to her execution. In art, her eyes sometimes appear on a tray that she is holding.
Until 1861 relics of Saint Lucy were venerated in a church dedicated to her in Venice; after its demolition, they were transferred to the church of San Geremia.
The Roman Catholic calendar of saints formerly had a commemoration of Saints Lucy and Geminianus on 16 September. This was removed in 1969, as a duplication of the feast of her dies natalis on 13 December and because the Geminianus in question, mentioned in the Passio of Saint Lucy, seems to be a merely fictitious figure,^[2] unrelated to the Geminianus whose feast is on 31 January.
(Wikipedia)

The Swedish tradiotion- mostly amongst yougster is to have a parade lead by a simulacrum- mostly a girl- of the saint Lucia.
Traditionally Lucia has almost allways been a northern blond girl. Nothing wrong with that, even though St: Lucia was born i Sicily and probably had a more darker complexion.

Anyway- this is a semi- big HO-HO here in Sweden. The traditional Lucia parade aired on national TV has millions of viewers early in the morning of the 13:th.

The morning of the 13:th this year what follows is what the wievers was tormented with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FLnIAhYe--I

I don't mind that this years national lucia was a black young woman. Not at all! I don't even mind that she could'nt sing. What a heck. I can't hold a tune.
What ticks me off is the young arabian gentleman rapping in the sermony in broken swedish.
What the hell?

A common misconception is that we celebrate Lucia on December 13 becauseSaint Luciafrom Syracuse died that day. But our Swedish Lucia celebration is nothingcommon with the Saint Lucia (except the name).That 13 december been a day that we celebrate in Sweden has to do with aerror in the Julian calendar that we used in Sweden up to 1753.A solar yearis 365.2422 days, but a calendar year in the Julian calendar 365.25days. Not much may seem, but at 128 years, the error has grown to a full dayand from 100 century BC to the 1300s had grown to defect almost twoweeks.Particular importance was the year offset for the day that markstransition periods - ex. winter and summer solstice and spring andAutumn Equinox. Winter Solsticewas originally 25december (hence the Christmas celebrations on this day), but had in the Middle Ages ended aroundDecember 13. This night was thus in the Middle Ages the longest.In a diary from 1702 can be read on 13 December:[The] longest night when the cold and unpleasant Wintern take theirbeginningThe 13december marked thus clearly a transition period and on all othertransition times of the year, tied the popular beliefs about the evil forceswas in motion during the night. The name day on December 13 was Lucia came duesound similarity in popular consciousness understood that it was Luciferthat swept through the night with his entourage.Since Saint Lucia never played any significant role in Swedishcelebration, there are not any similarities between her and thefirst saffron old men and old women saffron. If saffron old men andsaffron chicks' appearance are few stories but from Sillbodal in Värmland'sfollows:About Saffron asked the youth to with a Saffron Dance. One was dressed asLucia Bride. She was dressed in a long straw and had a straw band around the waist, whichclung halmane. With Saffron bride could all dance to the straw fellof.Being saffron bride was no honor. Instead, saffron bride's reputation that she waspromiscuous and crazy guy. A Lucia is more like the lucia we know todaymentioned from Skövde first 1764th Then it's a white-clad woman with lighthair and wings on the shoulders. The wings will disappear and the custom spreadfrom the western provinces to student cities through the western SwedishStudent Nations. Since there were no women at the higher studies, it was againmen who went to St Lucia.Again it should be noted that the Swedish lucian not taken any inspirationfrom the Italian saint (except the name). The appearanceon Lucia is instead either (as Carl W. von Sydow and others mean) aTradition transfer from the German "Kinder Isaiah" which was a successorto St. Nicholas as gåvoutdelare around Christmas or later loansfrom stjärnogossetågens angels (such as Hilding Celander and MartinP: n Nilsson mean).


The last segment is google translated from swedish- I'm just to lazy to do otherwise).