St.Lucia: Starting New Holiday Traditions

Via: Hagerstenguy.

Friends, you know my obsession with all things Swedish, right? But I think it all culminates in this wonderful holiday, St. Lucia’s Day.

OK–I’m not Swedish or Italian or have any reason to celebrate St. Lucia Day, And it’s way past December 13th, which is St. Lucia’s Day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love love love that holiday with all my heart and wanted to share my love/obsession with you all!

The story of St. Lucia isn’t that well known and there are several versions, but I like the one where St. Lucia is portrayed as a fiesty young Italian lass who hid a persecuted Christian family in the catacombs and led them by fixing a wreath of candles on her head.

I just think of this sweet little felt one…

via Frontier Dreams.

And I love Sweden’s take on it with the St. Lucia buns.  Oooh yeah! Spiced with saffron and currants.

via Stephanie Levy

via Flickr user, hfb

The only other person I know that love St. Lucia as much as I do is the wonderful Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy, who one holiday season a couple of years ago created these darling little St. Lucia kits.  Here is some of her work.


I love the Carl Larsson paintings of St. Lucia. So beautiful.  I want that tea set too.

As this holiday comes to a close, I can’t help but think about what I’d like to try next year.  Would it be wrong to get the Peach to start bringing us cookies and coffee in bed while wearing a cute little crown and lights?

Have you celebrated St. Lucia’s Day? Have you taken traditions from other countries and called them your own just because you like them?  And please tell me I’m not crazy for wanting this!

5 thoughts on “St.Lucia: Starting New Holiday Traditions

  1. well, i love st. lucia! the american girl doll kirsten (a mn swede!) has a lucia costume set. it’s retired now and goes for waaay too much on ebay but it’s pretty fantastic. i will keep my eyes open for the kirsten xmas book for peach! here’s a pic of my kirsten in her lucia garb:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lishyloo/5194152452/in/set-72157603381306054/

    an ex girlfriend of my dad’s had a complete meltdown back in the day because she was not picked to be lucia at some college celebration, glad he didn’t marry her and picked my swedish mother! lol!

    i like to imagine that my swedish great-aunts dressed like lucia in the house on the north shore, i have no proof of this. i do know they danced around the xmas tree in that house that was lit with candles. pretty great.

    i know my 10 year old neighbor dressed at lucia for a church celebration this past year.

  2. Oooooh yes! My mother always told me about this….and her love of Lingonberry jam (long before IKEA was a glimmer in someone’s gluvorvig bookcase buildin’ eye!).

    I think they look so beautiful with their crown of lights…..lovely!

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