Lussekatter

Yesterday was St. Lucia (or St. Lucy’s) Day in my home. Lucy was a young Christian martyr who died during the emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire in AD 304.  This holiday is celebrated most widely in Scandinavia and Italy. In Sweden it ranks second only to Christmas itself. Well, according to Ancestry.com, my highest percentage of DNA is from Sweden and Denmark. As a result, we have celebrated St. Lucia Day for years.

Lucy was born in Syracuse a city on the island of Sicily. According to legend, she converted to Christianity after an angel appeared to her. Lucy dedicated her life to Christianity and according to legend brought food and aid to other Christians who were hiding from the authorities in the Roman catacombs. She wore a candle lit wreath on her head to light her way, leaving her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Lucy also started giving away her family’s wealth to the poor and needy. Unfortunately, her parents had betrothed her to a man from a pagan family and when word of Lucy’s plans to distribute her dowry reached her Roman fiancé, he furiously denounced her to the Roman authorities. The Governor of Syracuse, ordered Lucy to prove her devotion to the empire and its religious practices by burning a sacrifice to an icon of the emperor. Lucy refused. Commandment number one given to Moses on Mt. Sinai is “You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3). The Governor sentenced Lucy to be raped in a brothel as punishment for her refusal to comply. Christian tradition states that the soldiers sent to take her away were unable to force her to move, even though they outmatched her in physical strength. They even hitched her to a team of oxen. To no avail. Bundles of wood were then heaped about her and set on fire, but they would not burn. Finally, she met her death by the sword thrust into her throat.

Whether it was the candle-lit wreath she wore to feed the hungry or the example of her enduring faith, St. Lucy’s Day celebrates the victory of light over darkness. She is known as the patron saint of light. Remember, as John writes in his gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it…The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:5, 9).     

Today, St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13 throughout Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Bosnia, Croatia, and Finland’s Swedish-speaking areas as well as the Söderberg household. Like turkey at thanksgiving, golden-hued saffron buns, lussekatter, or St. Lucia buns, are traditionally eaten in Sweden to celebrate the day. Traditionally, these delicious buns are served on the morning of the 13th by the eldest daughter of the family, who is dressed in a white robe with a wreath of candles crowning her head. I don’t make Renée dress up, but she does make incredible St. Lucia Buns.   

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