Having received a very kind invitation today from the Swedish Ambassador in London to attend "St Lucia, a Swedish mid-winter tradition" next week, I was reminded of this mid-December tradition that the Swedes, and Finns (!), like to celebrate each year. St Lucia is actually an
Italian saint but was "adopted" by the Scandinavians as "she is associated with the idea of light...in the middle ages December 13th fell on the longest day of the year", according to a web source. In short, the procession consists of a travelling choir of young girls and boys, carrying candles and singing, and they visit elderly people in particular. It would be nice to have something similar here in the UK - winters get cold and dark here too!
