Episode 56: Holiday Traditions…The Bearer of Light and Lussekatter
What You’ll Learn
Saint Lucia (01:40)
Celebrating Saint Lucia (04:20)
More Ways to Celebrate (09:20)
Recap (10:35)
Invitation (12:00)
The holidays with kids are both incredibly beautiful and overwhelmingly full of challenges, like organizing all the people, planning meals, packing for trips or preparing for guests, not to mention all the gifts & MORE! This week we want to give you a peek behind the curtain, and tell you ALL about the holidays and traditions we celebrate in our homes. BUT, as you listen remember…we’re sharing ideas, customs, and traditions from over the years and how they’ve been shaped in the different seasons of motherhood. Your seasons will change, your capacity will change, and you still have plenty of time to try-on traditions to see what fits your family best.
Saint Lucia (01:40)
The feast of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, is on December 13th. I actually didn’t know about the Festival of Lights until Britt told me about it.
In Scandinavian countries families observe St. Lucia’s Day in their homes by having one of their daughters (traditionally the eldest) dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods, such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits, to the other members of the family.
There are more traditions that include the other children in the family, but you’ll just need to read up on it
Celebrating Saint Lucia (04:20)
Britt’s sister celebrates every year with hot cross buns. In her house, they do cinnamon rolls with a nice cross on the top, on a white table cloth with a white candle with some greenery and a red ribbon. Traditionally the “Saint Lucia” of the family would be carrying a tray and wearing a wreath of candles to light her way.
Britt’s daughter has already made a paper crown for St. Lucia day this year. Their family will wake up to a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, read a Saint Lucia Book (affiliate link), and then say a little prayer for the intention of the blind and bringing light into the darkness of the world.
I LOVE celebrating Saint Lucia day every year (although it doesn’t always happen on the 13th). We celebrate with hot chocolate, candy canes, and whip cream (or marshmallows).
Last year, we used Saint Lucia day to decorate for Christmas, we looked at lights, and it was a beautiful evening for all of us!
Saint Lucia is a great day for decorating, lighting, and blessing the tree.
More Ways to Celebrate (09:20)
You can make a wreath-real, felt, paper, anything! You can pray for the people suffering from illnesses of the eyes or blindness. You can also make gingerbread houses, cookies, or make Swedish heirloom cookies! You can sing the Santa Lucia song (google it), and you MUST read this book (affiliate link)!
Recap(10:35)
St. Lucia of Syracuse was a real person and is celebrated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches. She was a brave and incredible woman and her life story is worthwhile reading.
Her feast day is December 13th every year.
Traditionally her feast day is celebrated with a festival of lights in Sweden.
In the home the eldest daughter dresses up and brings special baked goods to each of her family members (think breakfast in bed style).
If you want to bring this custom into your holiday season this year you can start simple by just making cinnamon rolls for breakfast and reading her story together.
Invitation (12:00)
Finally, hop on Instagram and share a holiday tradition with us that we can share with the mommas in our community! We love hearing from you, and mommas learning from mommas is SO important, it builds community AND it enriches our lives!
