We have been going going going recently!! Our calendar is full of fun Holiday events, so I was really tired and looking forward to sleeping late Saturday morning but guess what something better happened...
I was in a deep sleep dreaming about my horse Penny when I heard the sweetest sound...
"Good morning Lissie."
I opened my eyes a little and saw a soft glowing light like a halo over Kirsten's kind face. At first I thought I was still dreaming... is this an angel? I thought.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up it was in fact Kirsten, but I wasn't expecting her to come to Lissy's house, and it was still dark out. What was she doing here so early?
"Happy St. Lucia's Day Lissie, I brought you some hot chocolate and a Lussekatts," Kirsten whispered as she climbed the ladder into my loft-bed.
It smelled really good, but I didn't know what a Lussekatts was so I asked and Kirsten said, "oh it's a delicious bun flavored with saffron and dotted with raisins. In Sweden it's tradition to eat them for breakfast on St. Lucia's Day!"
I was beginning to wonder why Kirsten celebrated this day and what made it so special in Sweden. I asked her to tell me more about the holiday.
She explained it like this:
"St. Lucia's Day is one of the biggest celebrations in Sweden. It is held on December 13th because is was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old 'Julian' Calendar and a pagan festival of lights in Sweden but it turned into St. Lucia's Day. St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was killed because of her Christian faith in 304AD. St Lucia would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means 'light' so this is a very appropriate name. So it is a day to celebrate our faith and bring light to the world."
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I love learning about different cultures and traditions. I'm really glad I have friends like Kirsten to teach me about customs from a far away country. I thanked Kirsten for the yummy treat and the lovely wake up call, then she said she had several more people to wake and deliver breakfast to so she had to leave shortly after arriving.
Do you have any special holiday's like this that you celebrate with your family and friends? What kind of traditions and customs do you do in your culture?
If you would like to learn more about St. Lucia's Day or other Christmas customs from around the world you can follow to link to the website I used: http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/sweden.shtml
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