And the world just keeps getting smaller and smaller. This evening in the Duomo a choir from Gallivare in Northern Sweden performed the Luciadagen -- Festival of Light ceremony for a large assembled audience, many of whom had never heard of the Luciadagen before and so had very little idea what the ceremony was about but sat entranced and silent until the very end when they applauded loudly and long.
A very theatrical, moving and emotional candlelit evening as the mainly female choir filled the Duomo with their lilting voices and phrasing unheard of in the Duomo before.
Normally this would have been performed a week later on the 13th December for the feast of Saint Lucia. The origin of the tradition has much to do with the pagan celebrations of winter solstice and the popular belief that this was the longest night of the year.
Lucia was born not in Scandinavian but right here in Italy, in Syracuse, Sicily, to be exact, in the fourth century. Tradition says she cut out her eyes because their beauty attracted a heathen nobleman. She was denounced as a Christian and condemned to death during the reign of Diocletian.
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Normally this would have been performed a week later on the 13th December for the feast of Saint Lucia. The origin of the tradition has much to do with the pagan celebrations of winter solstice and the popular belief that this was the longest night of the year.
Stories of her courage were brought to Sweden by missionaries where she became known as the Lucia Bride. Old people said the Lucia Bride would go out early in the morning to bring food and drink to the poor. She wore white robes and a crown of light.
The story is acted out in Swedish homes with the oldest daughter playing the Lucia Bride. Early in the morning on December 13, she brings her parents a tray of sweet saffron buns and some coffee. She wears a white gown and a crown of greens, often made of holly. Her sisters and brothers dress in white and follow her. The girls carry lit candles and the boys wear tall, pointed caps and are called “star boys.”
The official twinning with Gallivare was back on June (article here) when Barga twinned with a third partner after East Lothian in Scotland and Hayange in France.
