Santa Lucia Day is coming on December 13th.  Little by little, I personally gather more and more information and put more details into this festival each year for my own family.

Santa Lucia Day celebrates the life of Saint Lucy and light for the longest night of the year (under the old Gregorian calendar this was the Winter Solstice).  This day usually begins before dawn, with the oldest girl in the family rising to make St. Lucia buns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lussekatt) and to bring these to her parents. She typically wears white, sometimes with a red sash and a wreath of candles on her head.  Other girls in the family are dressed in white as attendants and the boys are dressed as “star boys” with pointy star hats. I believe in many Scandinavian countries this day  begins the Christmas season.

If you are not familiar with this festival, you can peek at my post from last year regarding Santa Lucia Day and read the story of this special day:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/07/santa-lucia-day-in-the-waldorf-home/

Not every Waldorf School celebrates this festival, but some do.  Here is a link to one school’s description of how they celebrate this festival: festival life at Emerson Waldorf School

Here are some ideas for celebrating:

Here is an idea for making a felt Santa Lucia wreath with candles for your daughters:  http://teachinghandwork.blogspot.com/2009/11/santa-lucia.html  (boys typically have a Star Boy hat)

This is handwork for something beautiful for your home:

https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/09/beautiful-santa-lucia-handwork/

Here is another beautiful craft tutorial for this day:  http://www.gingerbreadsnowflakes.com/node/28?page=1

Here are some images of especially cute Santa Lucia clothespin dolls:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/santaluciaclothespindolls/pool/with/3104786151/

Here is a special song to learn to sing:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/11/just-in-time-for-santa-lucia-day-a-song/

My post from last year has a recipe for the traditional buns:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/12/07/santa-lucia-day-in-the-waldorf-home/

Happy Celebrating!

Carrie