I had read yesterday was Santa Lucia day. Also known as " Lucy Bride " in some Nordic nations. My grandmother was from Sweden and so celebrated this occasion as a child. She came to America at the age of sixteen. Married with children by the age of twenty one I don't believe she ever celebrated " Lucy Bride " day again. It was that thought that caused me to read further. I could only remember grandma telling us children about a lady that wore a crown of lighted candles on her head ! What follows is some of what I read.
That lady was the representation of Santa Lucia. Saint Lucy walked through the dimly lighted home with those candles on her head to help light the way. She was bringing coffee and cakes to all those in the house. There are several versions of the Saint Lucia story but most involve her losing her eyesight. In one she plucked her own eyes out to avoid having to marry a suitor. In many pictures of her there are eyeballs on the serving tray she is carrying. Grandma never mentioned that part ! Another tradition, one I think may have been modified for children, she just has bad eyesight and thus the candles. She was real a person and martyred for her faith. Strangely that was in Italy. I did some further reading about how Christmas is celebrated in Sweden. I found it quite interesting.
I was thinking about this as I went about preperations for Christmas here at my house. I began to wonder how grandma felt about not celebrating her Christmas the way she had as a child. I, for one, am quite nostalgic about Christmas and the traditions I associate with it. I find these traditions grow stronger as the years pass. For her, those traditions surely just faded further away. She did bake a certain cookie, one called " peppercorka " at least that is what the name sounded like to me. I read yesterday that it is served on Saint Lucia day and that is why grandma made them at Christmas. A tradition learned on the internet ! I read of many other traditions the Swedes embrace and they all sound wonderful. They carried the season twenty days past Christmas day ! I learned that in Sweden not only Santa Claus can bring presents but gnomes too ! I rather like the idea of gnomes bringing gifts.
I did find myself feeling a little sad and depressed thinking about grandma. I do not have anything that belonged to her that is associated with the Christmas season. I kept thinking about how she must have missed the celebrations of her homeland. Not all that immigrated here had a choice. She was sent here to help care for a sick aunt. Perhaps in the first few years while living with her Uncle they celebrated Christmas in the Swedish tradition. After she got married and moved to East Hampton I'm quite certain that all changed. Her husband, Grandfather Horace, would have demanded Christmas be celebrated in the American tradition. Just after the turn of the century ( 1900's ) it would have been a wife's duty to provide just that. It was a different time and place for sure. Over the years , with ten children, I'm quite certain her Swedish traditions were all but lost, except to her. Christmas perhaps became a gloomy time for her. Grandfather Horace passed away on Christmas Eve in 1949. For another twenty years she lived in that little home before her passing.
I'm thinking that I will try to locate a figurine of Saint Lucia. I'll just google that. I will try to do that in memory of grandma, " nana " as I always called her. A little woman, short in stature and softly spoken. Her gray hair was always up in a bun and she always wore an apron. Her long house dress swept the floor as she went about her chores. I never heard her speak a harsh word about anyone and never a complaint. I do remember those " peppercorka " cakes. Hard as a brick ! My own Mom used to make them when I was little. I'll have to get the recipe. Not that I will eat them but in the tradition of gingerbread, more to look at. I'm certain grandma Bennett has gotten to celebrate her Christmas traditions in heaven. Must be quite the birthday party !
That lady was the representation of Santa Lucia. Saint Lucy walked through the dimly lighted home with those candles on her head to help light the way. She was bringing coffee and cakes to all those in the house. There are several versions of the Saint Lucia story but most involve her losing her eyesight. In one she plucked her own eyes out to avoid having to marry a suitor. In many pictures of her there are eyeballs on the serving tray she is carrying. Grandma never mentioned that part ! Another tradition, one I think may have been modified for children, she just has bad eyesight and thus the candles. She was real a person and martyred for her faith. Strangely that was in Italy. I did some further reading about how Christmas is celebrated in Sweden. I found it quite interesting.
I was thinking about this as I went about preperations for Christmas here at my house. I began to wonder how grandma felt about not celebrating her Christmas the way she had as a child. I, for one, am quite nostalgic about Christmas and the traditions I associate with it. I find these traditions grow stronger as the years pass. For her, those traditions surely just faded further away. She did bake a certain cookie, one called " peppercorka " at least that is what the name sounded like to me. I read yesterday that it is served on Saint Lucia day and that is why grandma made them at Christmas. A tradition learned on the internet ! I read of many other traditions the Swedes embrace and they all sound wonderful. They carried the season twenty days past Christmas day ! I learned that in Sweden not only Santa Claus can bring presents but gnomes too ! I rather like the idea of gnomes bringing gifts.
I did find myself feeling a little sad and depressed thinking about grandma. I do not have anything that belonged to her that is associated with the Christmas season. I kept thinking about how she must have missed the celebrations of her homeland. Not all that immigrated here had a choice. She was sent here to help care for a sick aunt. Perhaps in the first few years while living with her Uncle they celebrated Christmas in the Swedish tradition. After she got married and moved to East Hampton I'm quite certain that all changed. Her husband, Grandfather Horace, would have demanded Christmas be celebrated in the American tradition. Just after the turn of the century ( 1900's ) it would have been a wife's duty to provide just that. It was a different time and place for sure. Over the years , with ten children, I'm quite certain her Swedish traditions were all but lost, except to her. Christmas perhaps became a gloomy time for her. Grandfather Horace passed away on Christmas Eve in 1949. For another twenty years she lived in that little home before her passing.
I'm thinking that I will try to locate a figurine of Saint Lucia. I'll just google that. I will try to do that in memory of grandma, " nana " as I always called her. A little woman, short in stature and softly spoken. Her gray hair was always up in a bun and she always wore an apron. Her long house dress swept the floor as she went about her chores. I never heard her speak a harsh word about anyone and never a complaint. I do remember those " peppercorka " cakes. Hard as a brick ! My own Mom used to make them when I was little. I'll have to get the recipe. Not that I will eat them but in the tradition of gingerbread, more to look at. I'm certain grandma Bennett has gotten to celebrate her Christmas traditions in heaven. Must be quite the birthday party !
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