December 13 is the Feast of Saint Lucia aka St. Lucy Day. There are a couple of different stories around why and how Lucia came to be a saint, but one thing seems to hold true even if the facts are fuzzy, and it is this: LOVE made her brave, LOVE made her fierce. Her gifts, her light, her actions, her choices – they came from love. And this love – this is the light that breaks the darkness. This is the love that brings hope.
What came into existence was Life,
John 1: 4-5
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.
In addition to loving the essences of this day (which goes so perfectly with John 1:1-18 perhaps my favorite Gospel passage) I also love the traditions – they are some of my very favorites of the entire Advent season – the baking, the candles, the wreathes, the idea of breakfast in bed on a cold winters morning.. (who doesn’t love breakfast in bed??) This year, because of quarantide I have been home long enough to prepare and celebrate a bit more than years past, and I thought I would share a few resource in case you too want to throw together some last-minute celebrations and celebrate the light winning.
IDEA #1 – Crown Craft and Storytime
I found this easy-to-make crown craft online, and made myself one (I printed extra lingonberry leaves for my big head) to wear while I read the children’s book Lucia Morning in Sweden for one of our local children libraries (video below!) Please pardon my Southern pronunciations of the Swedish words 😉
IDEA #2 St. Lucy Orange Sweet Buns and a Reflection
In some Scandinavian countries it is customary to make a breakfast bun that is flavored with saffron for the St. Lucy’s Day breakfast. At our house we like sweet rolls, primarily because we don’t keep a lot of saffron on hand. Another reason is that very often December 13 rolls around during the school and work week, and by using several prepared items that can be found easily at our local grocery store, I save time and energy that can be better spent enjoying my family.
Ingredients
1½ tablespoons butter
1 large tube of prepared flaky cinnamon roll dough
Icing package that comes with your rolls
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoons orange juice or the juice from 1 mandarin orange
1 teaspoon orange zest (about half of 1 orange or 1 whole mandarin orange)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Thoroughly grease inside edges and bottom of pie pan with butter or cooking spray.
Cut 1 tablespoon of butter into small pats and place randomly in bottom of pan. In a small bowl mix together the premade icing, juice, ½ tablespoon melted butter, and orange zest to make a glaze. Warm in microwave for 40 seconds.
Pour your glaze in the bottom of the pan, spreading it around as you pour.
Next add the chopped nuts covering the glaze.
Place cinnamon rolls on top of nut/glaze mixture, cinnamon side down. They will be touching,
Bake until the rolls are golden (about 15–20 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool.
After buns have cooled, flip them out on a plate and serve.
Resurrection Lutheran Church in Indianapolis shares about the Story of Santa Lucia, recorded by RLC Kids Team member, and my friend, Victoria Hoppes leads a reflection. Plus this video includes a tutorial for St. Lucy’s Orange Sweet Rolls! While these messages are created with kids in mind, all are invited to watch and enjoy.
IDEA 3: St. Lucia Paper Doll
I recently found this paper doll on Etsy and I just love it. I love that she is both shining her light and offering her gifts – something that women throughout history have continued to do in sorts of adverse situations. The paper doll pattern and accessories is only a $2 download and can be easily assembled at home.
And if you don’t see something here – there are also lots of ideas on Pinterest.
And of course, to close things out – a prayer for this day.
Happy St. Lucia’s Day friends! And if you celebrate make sure to tag me on Social Media or leave a comment – I would love to know about it all.
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