I'm not a bit Swedish or Sicilian (two cultures with devotions to St. Lucia), but my memories of Santa Lucia go back to way before I was Catholic. Back in the seventies, when public school teachers could still mention God in the classroom, my beloved first grade teacher (are you out there, Mrs. Dobler?) decided to teach us about Santa Lucia. Mind you, this was in a public school. Anyway,
she told us she would choose the girl with the birthday closest to Christmas to "be" Santa Lucia, and that was ME! I got to leave the class, and go into the library where my beloved teacher and the librarian put a long white gown on me over my clothes, and a crown with unlit candles on my head. I was then given a platter of peanut brittle (okay, it's traditionally rolls, but they used what they had) to pass out to the class. This scenario would never happen in a classroom today for a variety of politically correct reasons (too religious, sexist, non-inclusive, etc.), but it's a special memory for me. If you've never heard of St. Lucia, she was an early Christian martyr who angered her betrothed by giving the family fortune away to the poor. He apparently wasn't a Christian, and he ratted her out to the authorities, who put out her eyes, and eventually put her to death by the sword. She's the patron saint of blind people, and is often shown holding her eyes on a small plate. To honor St. Lucy, and bring back a lovely memory, I'm baking this braided St. Lucia bread from
Karen Edmisten's blog. I'll let you know how it turns out.
