St. Lucia Day, Seattle style

Having grown up bilingual and bicultural, I’ve always felt equally at home in both my countries, the U.S. and Sweden. In some ways I’m American; in others my Swedish roots win out. One time of year when I feel particularly Swedish is in December, when the Scandinavian traditions are the ones that matter most.

To get into the holiday spirit, there’s nothing like meeting up with other Swedes to sing traditional Christmas songs. That’s why once again I participated in the annual St. Lucia pageant put on by the Swedish community in Seattle. For years this was organized by Svenska Kulturförbundet (the Swedish Cultural Society), but since the demise of that organization a few years ago, the Swedish Cultural Center has taken over the tradition.

Lucia was a Sicilian martyr who brought light and food to the poor during a time when Christians were being persecuted. Her legend eventually reached Sweden, where she became celebrated as a bringer of light during the darkest time of the year. (See my post about Lucia traditions from last year.)

This year’s Lucia Ball at the Swedish Cultural Center was held on Friday, December 10, with the Lucia pageant followed by dinner and the traditional dancing around the Christmas tree. As always, I was one of Lucia’s attendants, or tärnor. Apart from the two stjärngossar (star boys), who like me are regulars in the annual pageant, most of the other participants this year were au pairs from Sweden who are spending the year in Seattle.

The following day we wound up on the front page of the Seattle Times! The article had quite a few factual errors, but the photos were gorgeous. To view the online gallery, visit: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2013651142/8.html