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Archive for the 'Saint Lucia Songs' Category

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A Santa Lucia Day Song and Saying, plus why it’s a Festival of Light

St. Lucia’s Day in Sweden and Scandinavia

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A Santa Lucia Day Song and Saying, plus why it’s a Festival of Light

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007

Several days ago I wrote a post about the Santa Lucia holiday in Sweden and Scandinavia.

A popular saying associated with this holiday is:

Lucy Light,
The Shortest day &
The Longest Night.

This saying celebrates the association of St Lucia’s Day, December 13, with the Winter Solstice which, under the old Julian calendar, used to fall on that day.

This day is very significant in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. There, in December, the daylight time is very short and darkness and nighttime are extremely long, due to their position on the globe.

Lucia is another way of saying “Lucy”, which literally translates to “light”. (In English we can hear this connection in words like “Luminescent”.) After the Winter Solstice the days get longer. So St. Lucia is a celebration of the coming lengthening of the days.

You can see why the song Sankta Lucia is one of the most popular carols to sing. It has a beautiful, haunting melody and it’s all about the long night and the return of daylight. Here’s one version of Sankta Lucia in Swedish, followed by an English translation I did, the midi tune and a link to the sheet music.

Natten går tunga fjät
(Swedish)

Natten går tunga fjät
rund gård och stuva;
kring jord, som sol förlät,
skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus,
stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Natten går stor och stum
nu hörs dess vingar
i alla tysta rum
sus som av vingar.
Se, på vår tröskel står
vitklädd med ljus i hår
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Mörkret ska flykta snart
ur jordens dalar
så hon ett underbart
ord till oss talar.
Dagen ska åter ny
stiga ur rosig sky
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

Night Walks with a Heavy Step
(English)

Night walks with a heavy step
Round yard and hearth,
As the sun departs from earth,
Shadows are brooding.
There in our dark house,
Walking with lit candles,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Night walks grand, yet silent,
Now hear its gentle wings,
In every room so hushed,
Whispering like wings.
Look, at our threshold stands,
White-clad with light in her hair,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Darkness shall take flight soon,
From earth’s valleys.
So she speaks a
Wonderful Word to us:
A new day will rise again
From the rosy sky…
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Midi of Santa Lucia

Sheet Music of Santa Lucia

Here’s a YouTube video of a performance of the song, from a Santa Lucia celebration in Sweden. The video is cut off at the beginning and the end, but it sounds very pretty and it gives an idea of what a St. Lucia Day concert is like.

Many thanks to Edward M. Gawlinski for the midi tune and sheet music!

-Mama Lisa

Note: The tune to Sankta Lucia comes from an Italian version of the song called “Santa Lucia”. There are also at least 3 different Swedish versions of this song.

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Denmark, Finland, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Languages, Music, Norway, Saint Lucia Songs, St. Lucia's Day, Sweden, Swedish, Swedish Children's Songs, YouTube | 10 Comments »

St. Lucia’s Day in Sweden and Scandinavia

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007

Santa Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13th in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. It commemorates the life of Santa Lucia, who is also known as Saint Lucy.

St. Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily around 283 and died in 303 AD. The myth is that her parents wanted her to marry a man who she didn’t want to marry. She wanted to devote her life to helping the poor. In protest against the marriage, she poked out her eyes and put them on a platter and sent them to the man. The legend is that her eyes were miraculously restored by God.

It’s said that Saint Lucia blinded herself on the shortest, darkest day of the year, which is the Winter Solstice. Under the old Julian calendar, that day was December 13th. That’s how St. Lucia’s day came to be celebrated on the 13th. (Now, in the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st or the 22nd.)

In Sweden, and other Scandinavian countries, Santa Lucia Day is seen as being the beginning of the Christmas season. It starts the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The tradition on Santa Lucia Day is for the oldest girl in the family to dress in a white robe with a red sash and wear a crown of candles and lingonberry leaves (lingonberries are popular berries in Sweden). She’s supposed to be dressed as St. Lucia. The other girls dress in white with silver crowns. The boys wear pointed silver hats and carry wands with stars on them. They’re called stjärngossar (star boys). Some kids dress up as tomtar which are like gnomes.

On the morning of Santa Lucia, the children in the family will often wake their parents with a breakfast of Lussekatter (a special St. Lucia bun made with saffron), ginger cookies, coffee and glögg (hot spiced wine). The kids will be dressed in their special Santa Lucia costumes and they’ll sing Santa Lucia songs.

Throughout the day girls will be dressed as Santa Lucia in schools, malls, churches and other public places singing and handing out ginger cookies. There are also Luciatags – St. Lucia processions in which the children dress in their white costumes and sing St. Lucia Day songs.

St. Lucia Day songs coming soon!

Many thanks to Edward M. Gawlinski for the photos!

Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Sweden Pages for Songs from Sweden, including Swedish Christmas songs.

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Posted in Countries & Cultures, Customs, Denmark, Finland, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Languages, Norway, Saint Lucia Songs, St. Lucia's Day, Sweden, Swedish | 1 Comment »

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