How Santa Lucia never fails to brings light to dark Denmark

Advent tradition helps people get through the long winter

Lucie Rychla

December 13 marks the celebration of Santa Lucia Day in Denmark – a Christian tradition that commemorates a 3rd century martyr and a popular festival of light that helps people get through the long winter days.

Traditionally, a young girl is chosen to portray the saint. She wears a crown of candles at the front of a procession in which everyone wears white and carries a candle.

These candles are believed to represent the fire that refused to take Santa Lucia’s life when she was sentenced to be burned.

Santa Lucia Day is a major Swedish feast that has been celebrated since 1927, and to mark the occasion the Swedes also bake a special bun made with saffron, Lussekatt (Lucia’s bun), which has become a very popular Christmas tradition.

In Denmark, the tradition of public Santa Lucia processions was adopted in 1944, and it has been celebrated annually ever since.

See the list of places (below) where you can experience this special Advent festival in Copenhagen.

St. Lucia Saffron Buns

READ MORE: All together to celebrate the festival of light

The legend
The legend of Santa Lucia is about a young maiden who chose to devote her life to God and refused to compromise her virginity in marriage.

She lived in the 3rd century in Sicily where the Roman Emperor Diocletian persecuted the Christians.

According to the legend, she refused a suitor who then gave her away to the authorities. The emperor decreed that Lucia should be taken to a brothel, but by divine intervention no-one could move her.

He then tried to burn her at the stake, but miraculously she managed to survive. She was also stabbed with a sword and eventually beheaded.

A variant of the legend tells how Lucia tore her eyes out of their sockets because she did not want any man to fall in love with them.

That is why she is often pictured with her blue eyes in a bowl, and why she was named the patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble.

Santa Lucia is also the patron saint of the city of Syracuse in Sicily.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs