Before all the hygge hype of recent years, the children of Sweden have traditionally risen early in the darkness to greet their sleeping parents with song, fresh coffee, and other treats for the feast of St. Lucia (Lucy). The oldest daughter of the house is named the Lucia Bride, and leads the procession clothed in a white gown and evergreen crown festooned with blazing taper candles to light their path. If breakfast in bed with a serenade is not a glowing example of hygge-style coziness, I don’t know what is!
This vignette has yet to take place exactly like that in our home, but I look forward to the day. Having five sons – up until last year when our daughter was born – I have always been our family’s Lucia Bride singing the morning into our home while our Chaps eagerly play the rambunctious Star Boy attendants. Going back to the first year when my husband jokingly asked if we could have a special devotion to St. Lucia and reenact these festivities everyday, Luciadagen is one of the small acts of service for my family that is always appreciated. If you have been wanting to incorporate this celebration into your litany of liturgical living you still have time to do so this year and I’m here with a little musical help to get you started.
our little Lucia Bride
Several years ago, a friend asked me to find a recording with the sung English translation of the traditional song used for Luciadagen in Sweden in hopes that her daughter might learn it for the upcoming feast. After a few days, my search for “Sankta Lucia” yielded several renditions of the Italian crooner version of the song, but only the printed English text. So, I made a her family a low quality recording on my phone with which to sing along. I have now recorded this folk song again and am sharing it with you for any other little Lucia Brides looking for their anthem. I have included this downloadable, educational quality recording below along with a printable text page for your family hymnal. For clarity sake, I chose to keep the Swedish word, Sankta, for saint, since that was the original language of the text, but the more common pronunciation of Lucia with the “ch” sound for “c”. Santa could also be used as well as the Swedish pronunciation of Lucia where the “c” is said as “s”, like in Lucy.
Blessings,
(just click on the photo to download)
P.S. This is a video of a Luciadagen procession in Sweden. I’m working on learning the harmony for those families feeling especially Von Trapp-ish…
My five year old, dressed as a Lucy Bride and having recently brought us our cinnamon rolls, asked me to find a St Lucy song. I was surprised by this request but decided to give it a google. And here is a St Lucy song! Amazing. 🙂