6 Simple Ways to Celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy
Feast day:
December 13
Patron saint of:
Patron saint of the blind; martyrs; epidemics; writers
Copyright Hope Engaged.
BAKE SPECIAL TREATS and have
“st. lucy”
gift them
Make Saint Lucia buns, gingerbread cookies, or other baked treats the night before or morning of.
Traditionally, the eldest female in the house plays the role of St. Lucia.
In the morning (before everyone is awake), she hands the treats out to family members wearing a homemade garland crown with four burning candles on top (or fake to be safe).
Alternatively, the family can gift treats to neighbors, friends, or those in need.
dress up
Traditionally in Sweden, children and adults alike dress up in garb full of symbolism about the story of Santa Lucia.
Girls wear white nightgowns (purity) with a red sash (martyrdom) and greenery garland crowns. The eldest daughter would wear the special Santa Lucia crown with lit candles.
Boys (”starboys”) wear white clothes and star hats carrying star-tipped wands.
HOW TO MAKE A SANTA LUCIA CROWN
Buy one pre-made
- Greenery garland from Target for $5
- Brass Santa Lucia crown with real candles from Heirloom Art Co
- Plastic crown with fake candles from Heirloom Art Co
- Another option for plastic crown with fake candles from Amazon
- Felt crown or starboy hat from MindfulStitching
- Other Lucia crown options from Hemslojd
Print at home
- PDF printable St. Lucia crown from The House that Lars Built
DIY
- St. Lucia real crown tutorial from The House that Lars Built
- Paper St. Lucia crown tutorial from Willow Wonder
- Paper starboy hat tutorial from Twilight Bridge
Make a DIY St. Lucia crown for your Mary doll
Supplies needed:
- 1 small piece of bendable wire (preferably gold)
- 4 small white birthday candles (I prefer pure beeswax birthday candles but you can also buy a cheaper version if you don't have a preference)
- hot glue gun
- greenery (from your yard)
- Mary doll
Instructions:
- Take the wire and form it into a circle crown that will fit the Mary doll's head.
- Check the length of your birthday candles. You may need to cut the bottoms off so it's not too tall for the crown. Hot glue the 4 candles to the crown. Let it cool.
- Hot glue the greenery to the outside of the crown.
- Put on top of Mary's head!
Copyright Frontier Dreams.
Copyright Every Star Is Different.
EVENING PROCESSION & BLESSING OF THE HOME
In the evening, right after sunset, your family can process around the outside of your home singing “Saint Lucia” or another hymn holding candles + wearing crowns and hats.
Pray to St. Lucy to bless your home with the light of Jesus.
Sing Saint Lucia to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?":
Saint Lucia,
Saint Lucia,
Wearing white,
Wearing white.
Lighting up the darkest
Lighting up the darkest
Winter night,
Winter night.
Saint Lucia,
Saint Lucia,
Queen of lights,
Queen of lights.
Lighting up the darkness.
Lighting up the darkness.
Bring us light,
Bring us light.
NO ELECTRICITY AFTER DARK
St. Lucy was from Italy, so no one is certain how the legend of Santa Lucia made it to Sweden.
Do not use any electricity after dark.
Turn off all the lights and only use candles for light.
Don’t use the stove or microwave either!
Turn off all electronics, cell phones, and televisions.
Challenge yourself to live an entire night without any of these distractions or conveniences.
Photo by Zac Cain on Unsplash
LEARN ABOUT ST. lucy
Fast facts:
- Born in Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
- Patron saint of the blind; martyrs; epidemics; writers
- Martyred at age 20 because she wanted to commit her life to Christ and rejected a suitor who betrayed her to the authorities telling them she was a Christian.
- Guards were sent to capture her and sent her to a brothel, but she was immovable. Next, she was sentenced to be burned, but the flames did not harm her. Then, her eyes were put out but God restored them. Finally, Lucy died when a sword was put through her throat.
MAKE st. lucy’s EYEBALLs PASTA
Paintings of St. Lucy are often depicted with her eyeballs on a plate, since that’s part of her martyrdom story.
Make St. Lucy's Eyeballs Pasta with gnocchi (eyeballs) and tomato sauce (blood).
A bit morbid, but fitting for the feast day!
Looking for more inspiration on how to celebrate the Liturgical seasons?
Living The Seasons: Simple Ways To Celebrate The Beauty Of Your Faith Throughout The Year is a full-color guide to creatively celebrate our faith. Each page is filled with beautiful inspiration with effortless directions to celebrate feast days, holy days and seasons within the Church. This will be your resource for living liturgically! Now available for pre-order on our website.
