Merry (early ) Christmas everyone.
OR God Jul, if your from Scandinavia :)
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With December 13th approaching, i decided to do a post about St. Lucia Day. Those of you with Scandinavian ancestors, or anyone that has been in Norway or Sweden during the Christmas seasons will have heard of Lucci at least once.
The legend of St. Lucia comes from a combination of old Norwegian myth's and folklore, mixed with the christinization of the old viking world.
The modern Christian holiday, St. Lucia's day is celebrated with a candlelight procession through the streets with one kid in the group placing a wreath with lit candles on their head and then walking through the school or church in prayer Because of the old practice of staying indoors with all the candles lit and a fire in the hearth to ward of the evil spirits, the church's official St. Lucia's day is also associated with candles and light, and during this night you will see candles in the windows of homes and even along the sidewalks throughout the city.
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Norwegians considered what they called Lussinatten (December 13th) the longest night of the year and no work was to be done.
From that night until Christmas, spirits, gnomes and trolls roamed the earth. Lussi, a feared and powerful witch or possibly a demoness, would punish anyone who dared work.
Legend also states that farm animals talked to each other on Lussinatten, and that they were given additional feed on this longest night of the year.
The Lussinatt, the night of December 13th, was largely forgotten in Norway at the beginning of the 20th century, though still remembered as an ominous night, and also celebrated in some areas, especially in Mid, Central and Eastern inland.
It wasn't until after World War II that the modern celebration of Lucia in Norway became adopted on a much larger scale. It is now observed all over the country.
Like the Swedish tradition, and unlike the Danish, Lucy is largely a secular event in Norway, and is observed in kindergartens and schools (often through secondary level). However, it has in recent years also been incorporated in the Advent liturgy in the Church of Norway.
The boys are often incorporated in the procession, staging as magi with tall hats and star-staffs.
Occasionally, anthems of Saint Stephen are taken in on behalf of the boys.
For the traditional observance of the day, school children form processions through the hallways of the school building carrying candles, and hand out lussekatt buns. While rarely observed at home, parents often take time off work to watch these school processions in the morning, and if their child should be chosen to be Lucia, it is considered a great honor. Later on in the day, the procession usually visits local
retirement homes, hospitals, and nursing homes.
The traditional Norwegian version of the Neapolitan song is, just like the Danish, not especially Christian in nature, the only Christian concept being "Sankta Lucia". Excerpt: "Svart senker natten seg / i stall og stue. / Solen har gått sin vei / skyggene truer."
("Darkly the night descends / in stable and cottage. / The sun has gone away / the shadows loom."
You will also see Lucia crown cakes and Lucia buns this time of the year :)
...Crown cake...
....Buns...
The English word “Yule” originated from one or more of seven spellings in Old English, which meant the months of December or January.
Around the year 900, “Yule” came to mean Christmas and its festivities. Further back, these words came from the Old Norse jól, which in addition to being the root of the modern Norwegian word “jul,” is the root of the word “joli” in French, meaning lovely, nice, or pleasing, and from it the word “jolly” in English.
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We all know of Santa and his reindeer, but how many of you know about the Julebukk (“Christmas Goat”) of Norway, known as Julebock in Swedish, Juleged in Danish, and Olkipukki in Finnish.
Originally the Julebukk was a goat that was slaughtered at Christmastime to celebrate
the end of the agricultural work year.
However over time, it meant a person who led a costumed procession from house to house, to entertain
the residents and be rewarded with food and drinks.
In the early 19th century, the Julebukk also became the bringer of presents,
and was the predecessor of the Julenisse, equivalent to Santa Claus in English.
Jul Goat..and St. Nicholas
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Today the Julenisse and Santa Claus have taken over present-bringing,
but effigies of the Julebukk can still be found all over norway and sweden, most of them are made of straw, and the largest one is a giant statue in Gefle, Sweden.
Giant Jul Goat.
Also if your ever in the area you could check out the city of Rovaniemi at the Arctic Circle in Finland.
It's About six miles north of the city you will find Santa Claus Village and theme park, located just two short miles from the Rovaniemi Airport.
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Christian version of st lucia.
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St. Lucy was a young Christian martyr who died in the early 4th century in Italy.
She quickly gained a widespread following and is the patron saint of virgins.
Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December.
The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-4th-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle lit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible.
Her feast day, which coincided with the shortest day of the year prior to calendar reforms, is widely celebrated as a festival of light.
Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy's Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on Christmas Day.
Saint Lucy's Day is celebrated most widely in Scandinavia and in Italy, with each emphasizing a different aspect of her story.
In Scandinavia, where Lucy is called Santa Lucia in Norwegian and Danish and Sankta Lucia in Swedish, she is represented as a lady in a white dress symbolizing a baptismal robe and a red sash symbolizing the blood of her martyrdom, with a crown or wreath of candles on her head.
In Norway, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which symbolizes bringing the Light of Christ into the world's darkness.
In both Protestant and Catholic churches, boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmastide, such as that of Saint Stephen.
The celebration of Saint Lucy's Day is said to help one live the winter days with enough light.
A special devotion to Saint Lucy is practiced in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, in the north of the country, and Sicily, in the south, as well as in the Croatian coastal region of Dalmatia.
In Hungary and Croatia, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy's Day involves planting wheat grains that grow to be several centimeters tall by Christmas Day, representing the Nativity of Jesus.
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Now onto a darker myth.......
Lussi the witch/ demon.
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Nils Bergslien, Julereia, 1922: Lussi is shown stealing a child while riding her broom
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Tis the season to be jolly, unless you enconter one of the most feared jul tide monsters,
and i'm not talking about Krampus... though a goat hooved, horned anti santa is not an ideal
Christmas guest ether lol.
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In the old days people believed that ghost both good and bad along with demons and monsters walked the earth and could interact with us just the same as the living do.
Winter was an especially feared time of the year, dark cold and bitter whether, shorter days and monsters to contend with, not exactly a merry Christmas.
Winters in midevil Norway were dark and cold, and the myths and legends from the region are equally so.
Just like the Germanic Wild Hunt, Lussi and her demon hordes would haunt the night, taking anyone they encountered during one of their nightly raids.
Starting December 13, in some versions this would go one all the way up until Jul/Yul.
The Wild Hunt.
In the old Julian calendar the longest night of the year was December 13th.
Lussis night.
Lussi, Lussinatta, or just the Lussi Night, was marked on December 13. when it was believed that Lussi, a demoness or possibly a powerful witch would ride through the cold winter night with her minions, her and her followers, called Lussiferda, Preying on anyone foolish enough to be outside after the sun goes down, or anyone who had not finished their preparations for Jul.
Lussi was also seen as a sort of anti-Santa, coming down the chimney to take away bad children. similar to Krampus a Germanic anti Santa that accompanied St. Nicholas and punished bad children.
Older triditions
This itself might be an echo of the myth of the Wild Hunt, called Oskoreia in Scandinavia, found across Northern, Western and Central Europe.
Between Lussi Night and The cow, trolls and evil spirits, and in some accounts even the spirits of the dead, thought to be active outside.
It was believed to be particularly dangerous to be out during Lussi Night.
According to tradition, children who had done mischief had to take special care, since Lussi could come down through the chimney and take them away,
and certain tasks of work in the preparation for Yule had to be finished, or else the Lussi would come to punish the household.
The tradition of Lussevaka – to stay awake through the Lussinatt to guard oneself and the household against evil, has found a modern form through
throwing parties until daybreak. Another company of spirits was said to come riding through the night around Yule itself, journeying through the air,
over land and water.
There is little evidence that the legend itself derives from the folklore of northern Europe, but the similarities in the names ("Lussi" and "Lucia"), and the date of her festival, December 13th, suggest that two separate traditions may have been brought together in the modern-day celebrations in Scandinavia. Saint Lucy is often depicted in art with a palm as the symbol of martyrdom.,
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The best way to avoid meeting monster Lussi was to stay up all night long, indoors with all the lights on.
In short, if you don't want to meet Lussi just say inside with a warm fireplace and a lot of light maybe some hot chocolate, and just watch a good Christmas movie or something :)
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St Lucia Day poem.
English
The long Lussi-night,
The long Lussi-night, nothing to be afraid of.
God protects farm and land,
The fishes in the water and the birds in the grove.
Nothing to be afraid of, the long Lussi-night.
The long Lussi-night, nothing to be afraid of.
Cows and horses and pigs and goats
will be healthy, round, and fat.
Nothing to be afraid of, the long Lussi-night.
The long Lussi-night, nothing to be afraid of.
Holy Mother of Good Christ,
free from death and the devil's list.
Nothing to be afraid of, the long Lussi-night.
=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=-=-=-=-=In Norwegian=--=-=-=-=-=-=
Lussi-natti lange
Lussi-natti lange, intet være bange.
Gud beskytte gård og grund,
fisk i vand og fugl i lund.
Intet være bange, lussi-natti lange.
Lussi-natti lange, intet være bange.
Ku og hest og svin og geit
blive karske trinn og feit.
Intet være bange, lussi-natti lange.
Lussi-natti lange, intet være bange.
Hellige Moder gode Christ,
fri fra død og djevels list.
Intet være bange, lussi-natti lange.
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Merry Christmas and have a safe and fun new year everyone, hopefully 2021 will be a great year.
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