December 13 is Lucia Day in Sweden. As a holiday, Lucia appears to combine elements of Catholic ritual (it began in Sicily, originally), with Nordic paganism (a pretty girl with a dangerous halo of fiery candles on her head appears around the time of the winter equinox to shoo away the darkness), plus a nationwide beauty pageant. There is a long build-up, with posters all over the grocery stores and post offices, touting the local teenage contestants to play the role of Lucia. I was supposed to get up at 6 AM this morning to watch the culmination, but I slept in as usual and ended up reading about it online.
3 years ago