Saint Lucia Celebration.....

The day has arrived for my little Freckles to wear her white dress and crown of candles.
 She baked the saint Lucia buns all on her own this year.
Everything turned out beautifully.

 

She really looks forward to this time of year
 when she can serve us the buns and tea.
 Shes already looking forward to next year!

 

I didn't have time to make a dress like I had planned this year so we went to the Thrift shop to see if we could find something suitable...We looked and looked but nothing was found until we were just about to leave there it was on a rack in the front of the store...as if it was meant to be there just for Freckles...It was the perfect long white dress with beautiful detail ...And we got it for just a few dollars...I would have spent way more on fabric making it myself...so it worked out! We were thrilled. Just look at the detail in the dress.....
 

She looked so adorable in it...
The perfect Saint Lucia !!!

 

She served the buns warm with tea as we enjoyed a cozy day in doors.

  

Significance of Symbols:

candles - light
yellow (saffron) bread - light
bare feet - charity
(Traditionally, they can eat the bread until Christmas, but not before St. Lucia)

 

In Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, St. Lucy (called Santa Lucia) is venerated on December 13 in a ceremony where a woman portraying Santa Lucia walks, with candles attached to a crown of green, ahead of a procession of other women holding a candle each. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take martyr St. Lucy's life. The women sing a song while entering the room, to the melody of the traditional Neapolitan song Santa Lucia, still well-known through the recording by Enrico Caruso but, whereas the Italian lyrics describe the beautiful view from the harbour area of Santa Lucia in Naples, the various Scandinavian lyrics are fashioned for the occasion, describing the light with which Santa Lucia overcomes the darkness. Each Scandinavian country has their own lyrics in their native tongues although commonly it's the melody of Neapolitan Santa Lucia which is used. After finishing this song, the procession usually continues by singing Christmas carols or more songs about Lucia. When the Scandinavian countries were Catholic, the night of Santa Lucia was celebrated just as many other saints' days were. However, the tradition would continue to live on even after the Reformation in the 1530s. According to the Julian calendar the night of Santa Lucia was the longest night of the year. This is likely to be the reason why the tradition has lived on in the Nordic countries in particular, as the nights in November & December are very dark and long before the snow has fallen, and the idea of light overcoming darkness is thus appealing.
Other Saint Lucia Celebrations here
& here
and here.