The days get shorter and the nights longer. At times, the wind sets the windchimes chiming. Some days, while the rain falls, blankets and heaters call out comfort with something akin to a siren song; fall in and never venture out again. Stay warm, stay still, stay snuggled in.
On a morning when the windchimes are chiming and the rain is falling, still days shy of the winter solstice, I’m caught with a nostalgia for another country’s tradition so I find a video of the Swedish Festival of Lights and watch and listen to the candle holding, white nightdress wearing choir sing.
The singer representing St. Lucia wears a crown of lit candles and symbolizes Light overcoming winter’s darkness. Throughout the concert, she stands with a candle held in one hand and her crown of flickering light. At one point, she lights another singer’s candle and that fire is passed from one candle to the next until the whole choir holds glowing candles. Bringer of Light. Holder of Light. Sharer of Light.
A mixture of pagan and Christian tradition, the Sankta Lucia Pageant also known as the Swedish Festival of Lights is celebrated across Sweden on December 13th and, for many, marks the start of the Christmas season and gives encouragement to all to bear through the darkness of the very short Scandinavian days. The message sings out: Winter and long winter nights won’t last forever. The light will come again to the world.
Two years ago, I happened to be in Sweden on December 13th staying a few days with some friends before returning to the States. My Swedish friend told me that the tradition is usually celebrated before dawn but that we could all observe it that year by watching a video. So, we did. And now here I am, on this overcast day, using his holiday tradition to bring in my own holiday cheer. His lit candle to light mine. Sharer of Light.
It’s just the thing for a morning like this one when there is a yearning for beauty and hope and the desire for heralding tradition. A reminder that darkness won’t last forever and an invitation to find comfort in song and the flickering flame of a candle.
[The version I watched is linked below. About halfway through the concert there is what looks very much like a Jedi lightsaber battle, and, because it’s all in Swedish, I’m left to wonder how that ties in to Saint Lucia, if at all. https://youtu.be/HhfUNoL1BOw]
