Christmas Through New Eyes

              When I say the word “Christmas”, what are the first five things that come to mind? Trees? Wreaths? Bells? Candy canes? Dear old Santa Clause? Any of those answers would be perfectly correct and nearly everyone would probably come up with at least a few of them.
              Or would they?
              Did you know there are people in this world for whom Christmas conjures up a whole different image? People who would see your Christmas as very strange and unusual? I had the opportunity to find that out first-hand, one amazing evening.
              We had a guest speaker in our children’s church group the year I was about 11 years old. She had come to give us a presentation about her work in Sweden. Sweden! I had heard of that place. Daddy told me we had ancestors from there and that’s where our name, Magnusson, came from. The lady showed us pictures and told us a lot about her life and the people there. But the part that really struck us was when she told us Christmas is celebrated very differently in Sweden. In fact, we might not even recognize it! What? No Santa? How could that be?
              Well, actually, there is a Santa, but he’s a little different than what we’re used to. He is a gnome named Tomte.
              And, the Swedes have another Christmas figure who doesn’t resemble anything we’ve seen here in North America.

The Story of St. Lucy

              St. Lucy was an incredibly strong and brave girl born in Sicily over 1700 years ago. She was a devout Christian at a time when followers of Christ were still persecuted and martyred. Like most legends that have been around for so long, it can be difficult to determine what’s truth and what’s embellishment, but either way, her memory is still honoured in many parts of the world all these centuries later.
              Determined to support her fellow Christians, she carried food down to the Roman catacombs where many of them were hiding out to avoid a terrible fate. She did this at great risk to her own safety. In order to have the use of both hands, she wore a crown of burning candles to light her way. Eventually she was arrested, tortured and martyred for her beliefs. Some versions of the story say she had incredibly beautiful eyes. Some say they were removed by a spurned suitor, others say they were removed as part of her torture. Some stories even say she took them out herself to avoid marrying a pagan. She’s also said to have been given new eyes by God, Himself.

St. Lucy Today

              Today, the Swedish people are happy to bring St. Lucy’s story back to life every Christmas. A girl is selected to play the role of St. Lucy in schools, churches and towns. The chosen girl wears a white robe with a white sash, to symbolize martyrdom. She wears a crown of candles, just as St. Lucy did, except today they’re often electric candles. Each December 13^th, she walks a procession, handing out hot beverages and special Swedish treats. 

My Turn

              The lady at our church group caused a bit of a stir when she announced we were going to celebrate a Swedish Christmas so we could see how it worked. After all, it was a few months, yet, to Christmas. A bit early for the season.
              As the kids sat down around a table she had laid out, the lady pulled me aside, leaned in and said, quietly, “I need someone to play St. Lucy. Will you do it for me?”
              Me? Why would I be chosen for such a cool job? She had said something about St. Lucy always being played by the girl with the prettiest eyes (I’ve found no mention of that online) but my eyes were pretty ordinary grey-blue ones hidden behind strong glasses. Maybe it was just because my name, Magnusson, was the most Swedish one in the room.
              She put a soft white robe around me and tied a red sash around my waist. Then she put a sturdy plastic crown on my head. It held about six candles in brackets all the way around. She told me to stand very, very still as she lit each one. Then she handed me a tray with little bowls of pudding on it. She told me take the tray to the table and hand each kid a pudding. But, she added firmly, walk very slowly.              Then she followed me every step of the way with a big pitcher of water. So, my safety was foremost in her mind, it seems. The other girls watched in amazement as I made the rounds with my glowing crown.
              Once every girl had a dessert, the lady put out the candles and removed the crown and robe, leaving me free to join the other kids at the table. I’ve never forgotten that amazing day.

St. Lucy’s Final Word

              Today, Lucy has stirred some controversy as people have argued for boys or people of colour being allowed to play the role. And she taught a little eleven-year-old girl to understand Christmas in a whole new light.
              Pretty fitting for a lady who made it her business to reach out to those the rest of the world had rejected.

              Disclaimer: The only Swedish person involved in the writing of this post was me, and I’m fourth generation Canadian who’s never been overseas. But there’s some pretty good reading on the topic online. Check out this article.

Lucia – an old Swedish tradition | Visit Sweden

Adaptation of original Wikimedia file by Manfred Haferburg. Original photograph by Ron Kroon.