Hypnogoria: THE OLDTIME YULETIDE ADVENT CALENDAR

Welcome dear friends back to the Hypnogoria Old-time Yuletide Advent Calendar! It is Day 12 and time to reveal our letter L. And L stands for Lucy for today is the Eve of St. Lucy.

Now St Lucy was a 4th century martyr. She was put to death during the Diocletian Persecution for bringing food and supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs of Rome. And according to legend, she wore a wreath crowned with candles to light her way, thus freeing up both her hands in order to carry more vital supplies down into the dark tombs and tunnels where her compatriots hid.

Prior to calendar reforms, in earlier centuries the winter solstice actually fell upon St Lucy’s Day, as commemorated in a poem by John Donne, A Nocturnal on St. Lucy’s Day -

'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,

Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks;

The sun is spent, and now his flasks

Send forth light squibs, no constant rays;

Furthermore as her feast day is during Advent, her festival became a celebration of the return of the Light. However, while celebrating St. Lucy’s Day has fallen out of favour here in the UK and US, in northern Europe, in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, it is still an important date in the Christmas calendar, where she is commonly known as Santa Lucia.

Firstly in some places, the eve of Santa Lucia is observed by turning off all the electric lights, and lighting candles. But the main tradition is the Santa Lucia’s Day procession on the 13th December - the “Luciatåg” - which has a young girl playing the saint, complete with a candle wreath crown, followed by children dressed in white robes, the girls carrying candles, the boys stars on sticks. Although sometimes the boys may also dress as the Julnisse, the Christmas gnome who is the traditional Yule gift bringer, or sometimes gingerbread men.

There are of course some traditional songs to be sung too, with one of the most famous translating in English like this -

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

Wonderful words to us:

A new day will rise again

From the rosy sky…

Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

As it was originally the longest night of the year, in earlier times ,it was thought all manner of evil spirits and trolls were abroad, and hence it was traditional to stay awake all night, to guard against the dark forces that roamed the winter darkness. And while Santa Lucia’s Day no longer falls on the solstice, it is still traditional to stay up late, and there’s plenty of special food on hand to help you through the dim watches of the night. Gingerbread biscuits are traditional, but the special dish for this festival is the Lussekat, a S-shaped bun, flavoured with saffron and raisins. Accompanying these treats is a traditional mulled wine “glögg” but to help with the staying up, there is usually some coffee and hot chocolate on hand too! So if you want an excuse to stay up late tonight, feasting and drinking, remember to thank Santa Lucia!