Brit Reacts to Luciatåg in Sweden
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 10 дек 2023
- 🌎PATREON: / dwaynesview
JOIN PATREON FOR FULL ACCESS TO SWEDISH/FINNISH SHOWS/MOVIE REACTIONS, THANK YOU!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Special Thanks to my View Family Patreon Members:
Lurker 33 | Tommy Vikman
Joakim sätherström | Jesper Andersson
Maria Ahl | Milton König
Elisabeth | Elin Lundgren
Göran Fälth | stecar70
Markkula | Daniel N
Nathalie Wingård | Tommi P
Ella Kindefält | Fredrik Larsson
Quusho | Mikaela Friberg
Janne Brodén | Sonja Malm
Jasmine Matthews | Gustav Nordqvist
Rebecka Mårtensson | Max Soininen
Helena Lissing | Madeleine Olsson
Marcus Nilsson | Karl-Olof Zandhoff
Jim Lundberg | Cecilia Hansson
Johanna | Viktor Forsslund
Theres Borg | Paul Jones
Sanna Svensson | Anders Öhrt
Sara Oback | Tora Hellgren Oliver | Milton KönigT. Sundström | RebeckaSteamboat Willie | David BlombergLine Johansson | Agaton VargenstanMatias Kähkönen | ZpitzerChrister | Rickard MattsonFolke Ackema | Linus
Thanks guys
Dwayne's View
Dwayne's Lens German and Polish Channel: youtube.com/@dwayneslens?si=j...
Original Video: • Swedish Lucia celebrat...
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS
You should watch SVT's (Swedish National TV channel) luciatåg/lucia concert. It's available from 2 am 13th of December. It is filmed at Kalmar Castle which is pretty cool.
don´t forget to use a VPN if viewing outside of sweden ;)
It can be seen all around the world
@@shefles You dont need VPN
I second that, worthy of a watch
Agree! This is a must. Usually so beautiful.
Children start being in a Lucia tåg around age 3 at kindergarten. Like a kidsfriendly version. Not all people sing, most people are in the audience of the lucia procession. You wake up extra early and the procession starts early in the morning. It’s very peaceful and beautiful.
Yeah
Lucia is a normal work day but it is special. I remember one time I was working on a construction site and on Lucia day every single construction worker stopped working for about 45 minutes to watch the Lucia singers come visit us. We were offered Lusse buns, gingerbread cookies, and coffee, tea and mulled wine. Almost every light in the contruction building was turned off (it was early in the morning so it was still very dark outside) so everyone could see the candles the Lucia singers had. It is quite magical. But for the rest of the day it's just business as usual.
The saintly legend of Lucia is about Lucia of Syracuse, a well-to-do virgin and devout Christian Catholic who lived in Syracuse, Sicily at the end of the 2nd century. She was sentenced to death for her faith, which was punishable in Roman times, and was burned at the stake on December 13, 304
Thank you for writing this! I think since she is the main character of the celebration they should've brought up her background too and not only the pagan traditions.
Not exactly, she is said to have possessed the brightest eyes and couldn't stan the attention from men so she plucked out and sacrificed her eyes to God and he gave her new eyes, hence people thought she was att Witch and an ally to the Devil.
The tried to burn her several times, but God protected her from the flames so at last they beheaded her and her red waistband symbolizes the blood.
@@sofiesvensson6562 then tell google to change what i wrote. Because it is a cut and past of a google-search hahaha. I heard the story you told aswell. Probably more then one story depending on where you live
I’ve been part of like 20 luciatåg or something like that and have even been picked/voted to be Lucia 3 times.
Mostly because (in those luciatåg) the lucia had to be able to sing a song solo - compleatly by her self that is.
And i’ve been singing for all my life.
The worst part of being lucia is for sure the crown with the candles.
It’s heavy AF and hurts your neck A LOT. Espacially since the whole thing is like and hour or so long and you have to hold your neck/head super still due to the fire.
You will also get hot candlewax dripping down on your scalp/hair/neck/shoulders.
Not to mention that you have to hold your hands together infront of your chest like you’re praying. 🙏🏻
After a while your arms will be super sore 😂
To summurize it: your body will hurt and shake like crazy before you’re done and you will have to keep holding your posture and your head straight and hold high.
So lucia is so much then just being pretty or being good at singing!
You must show endurance and tolerate a certain level of pain
the reason I never wanted to be Lucia. oki I suck on singing but thats not matter. why would I want that? not even as a kid I wanted that becouse why would I want that thing on my head for that long 🤣
Fruktansvärt. Fattar inte varför nån ens vill fira o deltar i detta.
Jag har alltid uppskattat slippa gå upp i ottan, öva i veckor varje år mm.
Fast det var även tråkigt behöva ha så mycket av kompisarnas övningstid på lektionstid att stå ut med.
I have been Lucia twice…. I can’t sing at all 😅 didn’t have to sing solo. But I’m taller than most girls and have long blond hair. But the yes, the crown and candles hurt.
"...you will also get hot candlewax dripping down on your scalp/hair/neck/shoulders, and your body will hurt and shake like crazy before you’re done and you will have to keep holding your posture and your head straight and hold high."
... idk about u, but that sounds kinda kinky to me, ngl 😝
@@sandercohen5543 hahaha I would love to see you go through an hour with that and singing+smiling all the time and see if you’re horny when you’re done 😂😂
Lucia is my absolute favourite day of the year ❤ It's so calm and beautiful. And romantic. When you sit as public in total darkness and wait, then you here from a distance how the Luciatåg is aproaching and enter with the candles. Makes me cry.
We had it always in school and we kids in our street organised a Luciatåg, practised a lot and then performed outside the houses.
It's normally performed in the dark morning. When I was teenager it was common to uninvited go home to teachers homes, sing and offer coffee and "lussekatter" (not always apreciated).
It's also common eith "lussevaka" (when your young), which means you party the night before and stay up all night til the morning of Lucia, go to school and see the Luciatåg.
We will have some school kids performing at my job as we have our morning coffee with lussekatter.
At work there always Lucia celebrations at my work the schoolkids comes around 3 o'clock and everybody will be watching and Listning to the kids singing
We also celebrate Lucia in Finland. At least us Finland-Swedes, who generally live on the coast, do. I've been part of the luciatåg twice. Once in elementary school, and once in upper secondary school. In elementary school I was a "Stjärngosse" and in upper secondary school I was a "Tomte".
I remember when I was about 8-10 years old and I was one of the tärnor that was selected to read a verse for the audience, and after you've read your verse you're suppose to go forward and lit a candle. I remember being so nervous because we were in church and everyone was watching and I was like *this is my moment* and when I was suppose to lit my candle my lighter didn't work 🥲 so I had to awkwardly stand there and try to lit my candle so many times until someone came and gave me a new lighter 😅 I was so shy as a kid so I remember this moment so well
Thank you for learning about our traditions, that warms my heart! Very nice to hear that Young Royals is finding it’s way out in the world too.
I was a music teacher and was tasked with creating a Lucia train every year and was not the easiest but absolutely necessary , but i loved it .
I have been part of many Luciatåg over the years (when I was in kindergarden and school). In kindergarden there are usually multiple Lucias. 😅 Basically, anyone who wants to be Lucia can be Lucia (even boys nowadays, since Sweden is ultra inclusive 😊). It is a really nice tradition. I loved it when my kids were small and I got to be in the audience for their Luciatåg early in the morning when it is still dark out. Super cute with the little kids singing. They start practicing the songs in late October sometimes. 😅
In the Julian caledar what is now the 13th of Decemer was the longest night of the year. That's why all the pagan things because, like she said. it was improtant for people to ward of all evil things so the days would become brigther again. When we changed to the Gregorian caledarin the 1700s the longest night is now on the 21st of December, but Lucia is still celebrated on the 13th by traditon.
As a kid you celebrate Lucia in school or day care from 3 to 18. You start to learn the songs in October, norrmally it's 5-10 different songs depending on how seriously you take it and the age of the kids.
In your youth there are often parties all through the night before Lucia and then you enter the Luciatåg or the audience very tired and a bit drunk early in the morning, making the event very etherial.
At work you often get a visit by school kids that go on tour all day singing and parading, or you can go to semi-professional Luciatåg in the big churches in the evening. One of these are always aired on SVT in the morning for people not being able to attend a real life one.
When you become a parent it's a thing to go and watch your kids sing and do the Luciatåg up to a certain age. In Young Royals the parents were there seeing their kids and Felice snubbed her mother by giving the Lucia crown to Sara against her mother's wishes.
If you get old and end up at a nursing home, the kids will visit you there too, often teenagers.
It's basically something you are exposed to your whole life, it's the true begiining of Christmas.
Important to note that this is not an exclusively swedish tradition, it is also celebrated here in Finland as well as in Norway and Denmark, so I guess it is a Nordic tradition, of course there are some differences in how it's celebrated in each country, but the general gist of it is the same
True, but the Lucia tradtion has a longer history in Sweden and only in the 1940s did Norway and Denmark begin to celebrate it. Finland maybe started earlier because of the ties to Sweden? Here it dates back hundreds of years. I'm not sure but the celebration that at least NO and DK "mported" was the newer tradition created in the 1920s here.
@@GuinevereKnight Im sure it does, I just wanted to make sure Dwayne understood that nowadays, this is not an exclusively swedish thing
@@AHVENAN I get that. I am glad we share it. I love Lucia and I am just happy we share this tradition with you too. And it's even more beautiful and powerful to know when and why NO and DK adopted the custom, to defy the darkness of the WW2 occupation. I think we all might need Lucia even more in these times, when it's dark in more ways than one. Peace dear neighbour, and happy Lucia!
I loved Lucia as a kid. We got up early to go around caroling.. And then we had Luciabuns and ginger snaps, glögg and hot chocolate for breakfast at school.
We do the same thing in Finland, we celebrate Lucia too. Makes sense since so much Swedish influence here.
Denmark also celebrates Lucia😊
Oh! When I was a child it was just in Sweden we celebrate Lucia.
I’am glad you also find Lucia in Finland and Denmark now.
@@anita1499 it began in Denmark during 2. World War also just found a list that says 8 countries have Lucia😊
When I was young I was in a Luciatåg that was something special. We sang for young men doing their military service. In the forest. We rolled up in a military bus and the soldiers where lined up expecting food. I am sure they got it later. We poped out and sang for them. I remember not seeing a thing for the first minute until the soldiers appeared in front of us, when my eyes had adjusted for the low light. I was dressed like a Christmas Elf, one of Santas helpers. From what I remember we all had real candles and I had a lantern with a tea candle in it. Yeah, in the clip Christmas Elves was not mentioned but I would say they are quite common too.
Lucia is very beutiful. It is going to a concert filled with songs and candlelight in the early, early and very dark wintermornig. Absolutly amasing.
we celebrate lucia here in finland too, at least in the coastal areas where there usually are more swedish speaking finns.
i remember in elementary school our teacher was ridiculously strict about casting a blonde girl as lucia for our school's event, as if there just was no possible way for lucia to have brown hair and the kids were being stupid for questioning it.
then a couple years later the city itself (candle) crowned a brunette lucia, so hahaa, vindication! plus the whole thing about lucia originating in italy, wouldn't dark hair be more likely anyhow?
Everything should reflect "Light", thats why. Didn't you watch the video? :P
@@Gurupimp10 Nah, hair color has nothing to do with that part. It was the teacher's personal preference, that's all.
Love that story. What a glorious silent victory. That must have shut her up :)
Makes me think of one particular Lucia day in school where the elected Lucia, the most popular blond girl in school, dyed her hair black for the occasion. No one knew beforehand, it was quite a surprice for a bunch of young teenagers. Long, beautiful hair was definitely a deciding factor when voting for who'd become Lucia. I guess she thought the same about the hair being more likely to be dark, or it was a teenager's way of saying FU to the beauty standards. My 14 year old self thought it was bad ass.
@@mnemetotoro Sorry but I didn't comment on ur comment mate..
@@mnemetotoroGoing back a few decades Lucia was always blonde everywhere in Sweden. It wasn't about personal choices but the way it was supposed to be, because, as someone mentioned, it was about bringing light.
I was the communal Lucia 1971 in Kisa, Östergötland, 10 years old. My mother made a cover for my head/hair out of one of my fathers white (too big) underwear 😂 I sat on a horse-drawn carriage together with the chairman of the municipal board
There are many versions of "Staffan (var en) stalledräng. The version I learned first went like this:
Main singer:
"Staffan var en stalledräng.
choir:
"Vi tackom nu så gärna."
Main singer:
"Han vattna' sina fålar fem."
Choir:
"Allt för den ljusa stjärnan
Main singer and choir:
"Ingen dager synes än, stjärnorna på himmelen, de blänka."
Lucia traditions actually has a lot with paganism to do . Before Christianity we celebrated jool -yule on december the 13th. Jollar is Odin, and the female part was Freja, the lady of light! Paganism has actually never stopped in Sweden, it has just took other ways! I would really like to meet you when you come to Sweden!
Inte riktigt.
Sant att Oden är julens gud, och när Oden red över himlen för att jaga bort mörkret så spred hans fru lussi eller mer känd som Frigg ljus på jorden , hon avbildas ofta med en guldig krona på huvudet ..
I always grew up knowing I had a belief but it wasnt the christian one, I used to say I had my own personal belief. It took many years to understand what it was, why i was different and why did i turn to nature instead of churches. May it be a tree, a river, ocean Mountain top depending on what i need. Sweden kept many traditions, we never lost it and that's why i can enyoy this belief. Talking to trees is not strange
When i first realized what my belief was, was when i watched the lord of the rings.
I've been "the Lucia" once in school (I was 9 years old😊). My oldest daughter has also been Lucia in 6th grade. I've also seen both of my daughters perform in a local church when they were in preschool. Very popular event among parents. Not an empty seat in that church at that time.
On the Lucia performance they show on national TV, they always have a professional choir. It's always a pleasure to watch that event.
Great reaction, btw!
20:20 - About the Swedish Tomte (yes, more like Gnome than the St. Nicholaus we see today).
The old Lore was that at each farm there might live a Gnome or two. Those Gnomes would help the farmers take care of the animals and make sure things worked properly. They would help sooth a cow that was about to give birth, they would help look after the crops and they might help chase away the fox so it wouldn't catch one of your hens.
However, that was only as long as the farmer and the farmers hands behaved themselves!
If the farmer, his family or his workers did not behave, the Gnome would instead turn vicious. If the farmer would not treat his animals well, if he was a drunk or misstreated his family, or if one of the workers peed up against the barn wall or even cursed, the Gnome would start to hide the tools or move things around to make life tough and annoying for the farmer! If things did not improve the Gnome could actually end up destroying the crops or even killing the animals, which would leave the farmer without chickens to lay eggs, no cows to give milk and no horse or ox to help pull the plow!
In hindsight, this was the supersticious way of making sure people behaved well and treated their animals well. To make sure that the horse was allowed proper food and time to rest instead of being put to work for too long. Same with making sure that each tool was properly maintained with everything being in put back in proper order.
Overall, a lot of Swedish Folklore is very... practical?
There's Näcken (a water sprite), a naked man sitting in the river playing the fiddle and if you approached he would steal you away (basically don't step into unknown rivers or you risk getting swept away by the current even if it seems shallow or calm), there's the Skogsrå (the wood nymph) which could lure you into the forrests and kill you, and similarly Gruvfrun ("the miner's wife") which could lure miners down pathways to never be seen again.
All of this makes perfect sense when you consider the things we learn today, that you should not wander around in the woods or you risk getting lost, and not wander off by yourself in a dark mine which might collapse or you get carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocate. If you go past a forrest and see something move in there you could be tempted to check it out (especially a kid or if you were walking home drunk) and keep walking until you are lost.
Lussebullar or Lussekatter as we all say are my favorite of all buns you must try them
Yeeessss they are the best. Or just all saffron-buns!
Like saffrans-flätor - ”saffron-braids”! Saffron buns formed like a braid filled with a sweet almond-paste
And not only in Sweden, Finns celebrate this day as well :)
My daughter was Lucia in her school last year. I was soooo proud!
I were part of a few Lucia processions during the school years. The most noteworthy were the one in fifth grade, where I had the role of Santa himself, whom is also a common addition together with tomtarna. Santa Clause is called Tomten in swedish, the Tomte. You are correct that tomtar are gnomes. That year we sang not only for our school, but first we visited the retirement home and sang for all the old retired people there as well. After we sang, we also them lussekatter that we'd baked ourselves. It felt great to see how much they appreciated us.
One thing about this celebration that sometimes happen is that someone would actually faint. This would be due to lack of oxygen while singing. It can happen if they hold their candle to close under their face, so they would breath in too much CO2 from the candle instead of oxygen. This is something that it's very important to think about when using real candles, since it's obviously very dangerous.
A fire requires oxygen (in chemistry its known as "O") too produce CO2 (carbon-dioxide)... basicly, its often the loss of oxygen that would make a person faint, specially in puberty where girls can get a los of blood or f.e iron and so on, I can see how its a problem. the CO2 does not do anything too a human, the sparkling water actually consists of bubles filled with CO2 where its been "sprayed" into the often water, though I can see how it can become dangerous at an higher rate though it would do nothing in this low quantity. So in reality its actually not that dangerous except for fainting though fainting can be dangerous.
@@neozetterberg4938 Yeah you're right, it's not the CO2 that's the real dangerous part. I was a bit unclear on what I meant.
What I meant was if someone faints and collapses uncontrolled. If no one reacts and catches this person, they could knock someone else down as well, and chain reaction. Uncontrolled falling candles ain't a good thing, and especially not if the Lucia herself were to fall, with the candles in her hair and all.
I've seen it happen. Luckily everyone were ok, the Lucia had a protective cloth under the crown. But there were some singed hair.
That was fun. I am Danish, and we have Lucia too, but a little different. It is usually just the one entrance song, that is sung, but it is sung again and again. But it is like, the Lucia parade, rarely stops. Meaning, the parade, will walk around in a building, or a street or what ever. As if Lucia is walking around bringing the light to people. I remember as a child, we did it with the scouts too, and would visit a retirement home, walk around in the hall ways, and the elderly would come out and look through their door, to watch us go by. There might be more too it some places in Denmark, but not as far as I know. In Danish the Lucia song goes something like this. "Now the light is carried forth,- proud on your crown,- around in house and home, -the song must sound,- now on Lucia day,- Greetings for our friends, -Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia. There is a verse more. Anyway, It was fun to see how our neighbours does it.
Greetings from Denmark. 🙂
Usually someone of the employees comes and visit with their kids dressed up as Lucia and Santas little helpers , and Staffan starboys .... Singing and its so lovely.
Like our neighbor Country Sweden - we also celebrating Lucia: My mother was a Lucia Bride. We have the same traditions - connected to Lucia. I'm from Denmark
I was Lucia in school ...the students had to vote for the Lucia . In that time the Lucia had to be blond . The girls voted for another girl and the boys voted for me . But then the teachers voted for me ,so I became lucia . The other popular girl wanted to be my friend all day .But I saw she was smiling when my hair caught on fire . But I had thick long hair ,so it wasn`t visible. That was my day of fame 😊
If you knoe the story of the real Lucia - that is called method acting. 😜
I'm an organist and my choir made a Luciaoptog (the danish word for Luciatåg) yesterday at the sermon (a bit early but that's the sunday closest to the 13th). I live in Denmark where we also celebrate Lucia in most schools.
Jag visste inte att danskarna också firar lucia.
@@zimon85 det gør vi - men vi ved godt, at det er en svensk tradition, som vi har taget til os :-)
Usually the Lucia-celebration often goes on in churches as well, and they sing for an hour, all kinds of Christmas-songs, very important is e.g. Silent Night.
You can watch a Lucia’tåg in SVT play in the morning on the 13 of December.
Lucia is a beautiful tradition. As a kid I was once the Lucia but more often tärna. I was once in a Luciatåg in a hospitalward an an old lady thought she had died and she heard the angels singing.
i... L-O-V-E Lucia, it's almost better than Christmas. it's the ultimate cozy tradition and I'm so glad I'm not working on Lucia this year. Watching it on TV every year. Was always a tärna in school but that's all good because the Lucia usually only sing a few of the songs like stepping in, some solo in the middle and stepping out and the rest of the time they usually just have to stand there.
I have been the lucia one time and it gets very warm. I think i have been on and sing a lucia tåg like 6 or 7 times when i was younger
Back in the day people believed in gårdstomtar/hustomtar (farm/house gnomes). Every farm had one and he would watch over the place, make sure the animals were alright, and secretly help you with some chores. You don't see him but you know that he's been there because of the work he's done. It's not all fun and games though, he has a temper and will be mad at you if you don't take care of the farm well enough, or if you don't show him appreciation.
When I was little we would put a bowl of tomtegröt (gnome porridge) outside for him on Chrismas. My parents didn't believe in him but it was a fun thing to do with us kids. It was something people back in the day would do for him as a thank you for all his hard work.
The Swedish word for Santa is "Tomten", the same name that we call our gnomes.
Previously, it was an annual tradition that a smaller Lucia train visited Nobel laureates in their hotel rooms in Stockholm early in the morning, before they got up. One year, one of the prize winners was an African-American from the US, who knew nothing about the Swedish Lucia celebration. He was frightened by the white-clad train with candles in their hands and the men with tall white cones on their heads. After that incident, they stopped hosting the award winners in the rooms in the morning.
Edit:
When you asked Siri for the date, my Siri started on my phone 🤣
We had Lucia at my school when I was a kid, and my 6 year old will have a Lucia celebration tomorrow at her school. (one day early). They will sing songs for the parents. :)
Yes, youtubers should stay away from saying things like hey google and alexa too :)
You wouldn't get any holidays in Sweden without elements of paganism. You may not know this, but Sweden wasn't really christianized till the 13th century, much later than both Norway and Denmark, and those traditions lived on to as "recent" as the 16th century. And we can see traces of this in old churches from this transition period where they ornated the interiors with pagan motifs and also objects you typically wouldn't see in the christian studies.
This is probably a big reason to why people here typically are not very religious, or even if they are, they are very low-key about it. Spiritual, yes... But not religious. :)
So in short... christians and pagans lived alongside eachother for quite a while. :P
All swedes have joined a lucia at school, almost all or in preeschool. Some might want to forget it but this is a tradition. I had the honor to be Lucia when I was in school in nine grade (9:an). Then at one workplace we where 4 divisions and a different division had to be the Luciatrain and sing songs for the other divisions. It was so much fun. Now when I work more globally we don´t have this at all. But i can watch it on TV in the morning to get the feeling.
I went to a school with music focus and we did many Luciatåg every year. I was runner up in 8th grade but the teachers preferred a soprano. In total, I've been in about 100 Luciatåg in school, churches, workplaces, public shopping centres and hospitals. 🕯️🕯️🕯️We got payed for it.
Lucia is basicly just an replacement for a celebration for Freja the goddess that was celebrated around midwinter to get the light back. Even the cinnamon buns lussekatt is refearing to her cats that pulled her vagon.
Yeah, I've been Lucia.. at daycare when I was 3 and I wore a red knitted hat underneath the crown 😂
This year I will watch my son being a stjärngosse (starboy) in his schools Luciatåg 😍
I recommend Jonna Jinton's video "Light in the darkness Swedish Lucia tradition" to hear one of the songs. It's beautiful. I recommened using subtitles to see the english translation!
Yes Luciatåg is going on "everywhere" in sweden that day 🕯😊 From very big to very small. From 'Swedens Lucia' to the 'towns lucia' through all grades of schools and pree schools.
Retirement homes are visited by Luciatåg, workplaces, hospitals, everything possible is visited by Luciatåg in the early morning that day. Luciatågen sings many beautiful songs (which we all know for generations) and sometimes Lucia reads a poem or similar.
And afterwards there is always the obligatory lussefikan. As you know, fika is a high priority in Sweden 💛
I was also going to mention that it's not as "strict" for the smaller children, no voting etc 😆 In kindergarten you can be whatever you want, so there could be a lot of lucias in the lucia train, or none at all, maybe just gingerbreads and tomtar, who knows!
Lucia is cosy-time, a beautiful tradition 💗
I went to a music school in Stockholm and we had several Lucia gigs around town over the years, like at a huge post office, a newspaper office, and once we were even at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (!). (Believe it or not, one of the parents actually worked there and we got to sing there.).
I have been in many Luciatåg from kindergarden thru high school and I was voted to be our whole schools Lucia, we performed for the students and staff of our school in the morning and for our family's in the evening.
I have been Lucia once in school. And participated in the Luciatåg every year as a kid.
It'a also celebrated in Finland as there are many Finnish Swedes, like my husbands family. :-D
I love Lucia I haven't been a part of it since a few years back. But it's always a fun thing.
Then i had been doing it for 7 years in a row. And it was very fun. At the last year I had very fun singing Lucia in Italian solo(was a "Skärngosse"). It's one of my most found memories. I love Lucia. It's such a fun tradition. And now even in my adulthood. I don't mind doing it again😄
I was never all that popular, but I won the vote in 6th grade and was the Lucia that year. It's almost 20 years ago now.
In Finland is also this Lucia day with this same celebration in 13 December.
I was selected as Lucia in 9th grade in 1976
All the 9th graders had a vote
It's a memory for life and we did the "Lucia tåg" not Only in the school, we wher at four other loactions such as for the elderly home and a school for special need children who also gave me gifts
Wonderful day
I literally grew up on the crossing Staffanstallaresväg 25 and Fem Fålars Brun 4 so that red point is my old house and the blocks with the christmasy names used to be my neighbourhood😂😂😂 18:32
We do this in Denmark too. I was also in it as a kid in school ☺️
I’ve been The Lucia 1 time but I’ve been apart of more than 15 Luciatåg. It’s so much fun and I love to sing!
For me in 5th grade you start to have the Lucia with real candles with safety gear on. Before that they are fake lights. Kids often has many Lucia but the oljerika ages they should have just one Lucia. She also should stand in the center of everything/everyone.
I have been Lucia as a kid. The Real candles where a bit scary and I almost put a curtain on fire. 😅 But it was quite fun.
I am a music teacher for 19 years now and had this "Luciatåg" every year :)
You need to check out Tommy Johansson from sweden.he is Sweden's national treasure.instrumentalist and singing capability are out of this world. He plays with sabaton and has his own band.start with you raise me up one octave challenge it'll blow you away
Everyone has been part of this. Also I have been lucia at age 9. I think I during the singing even turned around to chat to someone lol. People were laughing
Yeh, Swedish people during Middle Ages was mostly farmers , they fared gobblins and trolls more than the Devil , and they did not celebrate Lucia as we do today , but they did dress up and sang the song Staffans drängar and Godermorgon mitt herrskap , Lucia was introduced by a newspaper that had a competition for the Stockholm Lucia in the early 1960 , this became so popular so Lucia trains was introduced in the schools , gingerbreads and Saffran bread or Lusse bread , was though eaten through Middle Ages as well , Lucia was a Saint that was killed in Santa Cruz in Sicilia for her fafe , she was martyred, and cut in half , thats why Lucia and her followers wear read silk ribbons around their waists.
Been voted Lucia three times. To be Lucia you had to sing solo and sometimes read short poems in front of a big audience, as well as be willing to have actual firelit candles in your hair so most of girls (in my experience) prefer to be "tärnor". But the fun thing about tärnor is that it isn't to uncommon for them to faint because they hold the candle in their hand to close to their face so they loose all oxygen😂 So in my 18 years of being part of Luciatåg, most dramatic events has involved them and not the Lucia
I remember this as a kid that someone fainted on stage (oh well, up front in the sports hall). That's when I learned to crouch down to avoid fainting if feeling dizzy. Of course we didn't have real candles, the person was just nervous.
As a foreign kid in Sweden, I got the idea what it is about, the first time I saw it. The people are placed so that the "star boys" become the starry night-sky, the Lucia becomes the sun rising over the horizon, and the maidens are the aura that is on the horizon around the rising sun.
It has to be dark in the local you are at to see it.
My favourite Lucia song would be "Strålande helgonfé". It sounds very pagan to me (I am not a translator, but "Strålande helgonfé" is like saying "Sparkling fairy of saints" or something like that ... Fairy of saints. Think about that for awhile). The song is about how saint Lucia was executed on a bonfire but "conquered death" (By becoming a martyr), and in the second verse the daylight is "already coming back". This makes me think about human sacrifice to make the sun come back lol and our Lucia tradition is also around the darkest time of the year (And it gets DARK, in northern Sweden the sun wont come up AT ALL, in the rest of Sweden we have a few hours of daylight). Similar things can be implied in a lot of Lucia songs, they are heavily focused on making the light/sun come back.
Hi,I´ve been lucia many times as a kid but never in school. Luciatåg did appear the first time in Sweden 1764 and that tradition was mostly common in Västergötland, a part of Sweden. At that time it was also common for men to be lucia as well.
Yeah, I'm originally from Basildon, Essex, but now Swedish living in Northern Sweden. On 13:Dec it is the pagan ceremony of light with Christian overtones. Yes we work on the day but eat luciakatter in work canteen and there is even a small ceremony with candles on head . Please accept all that you see with a straight face, or otherwise offending some Swedes 😊
Work canteen, I have always wondered what to call it, now I know
We work and then at 09:00 at Fika we have our Lusia with Lussebullar and pepparkakor, we usually have Glögg aswell but that is a 15-20 minute breake then back to work.
When you get older (let's say 16-18 years old) the "Lucia vaka" is the main thing.
That means to stay up all night between 13-14 of December.
On that night the cinemas usuals runs a couple films during the night and people are out and about, or at home drinking (heavily).
Thankfully I'm to old to have to worry about mobile cameras being a thing at the time. Because we got the bright idea that we should do a "lusse tåg" for our teachers at 3 am in the morning.
Said and done we crafted a Lucia gown from some old sheets (using scissors and a stapler). and because i had long hair at the time I got to be the Lucia...
As I said....Thank god mobile cameras where not a thing at the time....
I worked as Lucia for many years in a theater. It was so cozy.
When I was little we didn't put saffran in the buns. And personally I never liked saffran either. I prefer my lussebulle without.
Plus when we were kids in the 70s and 80s we actually went around with our "Lucia train" knocking at doors, singing and mybe we got candy, cookies, buns or money as a Thanks.
I have been in other Lucia trains too til I reached more grown up age.
At my work we only get Lusse fika. During all years we have only had one Luciatåg with kids.
Okay, Lucia is a tradition in Sweden, yes. But, what most people don't know even here in Sweden is that it is not the celebration of the Christian and Italian Saint Lucia, but from the beginning was a preparation for the winter solstice, midwinter blot which is the actual Jole celebration. Here in the Nordic countries we still say jul and not Christmas.
The goddess Freya who told the fairies and their queens to go to the homes of the people and spread the word that things are changing. Now the darkest time has been, and now the sun is coming again. and to help, you should hand out solar breads that look like solar spirals and gigerbread cookies.
These solar spiral breads are called lusse cats. Lusse is another name for Freya, and her pet is the cat
These buns are filled with gills which also help to spread the force.
Even today, people sing about the light queen that is coming and the light and that the participants of the march are floating as if they had wings
But what people don't understand and have forgotten for generations here in Sweden, is that it's not about angels but about the Nordic fairies, who are like ghosts and fog. Even the singing is floating like it could come from spirits. If you think like this, you understand why the march looks like it does. See for yourself. Not true?
I was once the Lucia in ninth class and it was exciting and a bit scary. Fun facts, in Gothenburg some Lucias wear a blue sash instead of red, this is to symbolise Göta älv, the local Göta river.
Went to a music school so we did 'professional' Lucia processions for our king, visiting international politicians and paying audiences. Was always a big deal every winter 🤩 miss it a lot.
Mom have a story about Lucia, a pricy one lol several years ago they celebrated it at her hospital where she worked and those living candles started the fire alarm. Some celebration.
I was Lucia when I was 11 or 12 for my class Christmas party. The audience were parents, siblings and our teachers. A great honour. ❤ But as a kid/teenager and even sometimes as an adult I’ve taken part in many Luciatåg. Always fun!
Most churches have a Luciatag on this day or the Sunday closest to the 13th. 👍🏻🕯️🕯️🕯️🫶
Lusebullar, Lusekatter, Safrans bullar, solbröd ( Louse buns, Louse cats, Saffron buns, Sun bread )
are the same kind of bun but just with different names, we bake them before Lucia and then eat them throughout Christmas.If you want, you can get a recip?, They are really good if you get them right.
Another thing you should find a video on if there is one is on our Christmas calendar, I only realized a few years ago that it is a Swedish thing and not a thing in other countries (possibly one of our neighboring countries has it too). It has been going on since 1960. It is a TV program for children/family with on episode every day from 1 December until Christmas Eve, so a new one every year and is really a highlight for children, but also for parents as there are now three generations, in some cases four, who have followed it since they were children. It is often discussed around Christmas which was the best Christmas calendar and since there are 63 to choose from, it is difficult to agree on which on is the best.
Mostly people don’t sing at their works, as far as I know at least. But I think most watches some kind of ”lucia tåg” in the day. Maybe with their kids in their schools, or some bigger one on television. In the Swedish system my school is from the grades 6-9, and tomorrow voluentary people are performing and singing in the church, while the rest of the school watches. I stayed in school late yesterday. With my needlework teacher, to work extra on that subject. And at that time she was making outfits for that.
In Finland it's mainly the Swedish speaking people celebrating the day. There's actually a meme among the Finnish speaking people: the word Lucia sounds like luciya (lusija) which means someone doing time in prison... Have seen many pictures of the Beagle Boys (in Donald Duck) today.
Been part of a Lucia tåg for all 9 years of school, but never been Lucia, never wanted to. But it's fun, and cozy to watch 😊
The buns (lussebullar) that we eat on the Lucia-day has "russin" or in English it's raisin.
You will find this celebration in all the Scandinavian countries. But the Swedes are a bit more hands on and have a more elaborate celebration with an annual televised prosession which is a complete TV-production, broacast on national TV, with professional musicians, adult- and childrens choirs and celebrity soloists.
Yes😊 i was the Lucia in my school i 3d grade. Thats a long time ago now lol
Me too, back in 1978😂
I have been the lucia when I was in the 5th grade in school, with real candles in my crown ✨
In Sweden this is a precious tradition, very emotional and beautiful. The story is based on a religious story, that's why its called Saint Lucia.....
I think one of the reasons why this tradition lives on in Sweden is because it kind of fits in with modern times in that it happens before the school winter vacation making it kind of a pre-xmas celebration. She kind of missed mentioning the Tomtar/Gnomes part despite kids being dressed as them. Essentially, when a song mentions someone then the kids dressed like them act out what the song say. That means that if xmas songs are also included, then someone may be dressed as the large Santa and there may be raindeers. Someone may also dress as Staffan the farmhand.
The songs she sang were misstranslated a bit I think.
Using mostly simple english words while the swedish versions use more complex and older phrases.
Like I'd probobly translate one part of the first song with "Strides" rather then "walking" and so on, it sets a better tone for the song.
Because the songs uses words like that a lot, it means kids need to practise them more too, since what 5-10 year old uses "strides/striding" commonly, compared to "walking". and in the song it actully means closer to rising rather then walking too, like Lucia steps up/rises up.
Agreed. There's a lot of older language in those songs, which is more nuanced. She also turned some words of the "Tomtarnas julnatt"- song. It should be "tyst det är i husen" not "det är tyst i husen". I'm used to the original version, but maybe she sang a newer version of the song?
@@artbyangelique5892 Yeah some of the oldest songs have modernized easy "childfriendly" versions.
Like the Lucia song has a kid's version that starts with "ute är mörkt och kallt" (outside it's dark and cold) instead of "natten går tunga fjät". (And like, tbf I doubt anyone alive in 2023 has ever used the word Fjät outside of old songs and poetry... But that's how the song goes dangit!)
I was by far not the popular girl in highschool, but i was woted to be our Lucia because of my singingvoice. The day i found out my parents revealed the surprise that we were to celebrate Christmas in California with our American family - leaving the day before lucia! I was so disapointed!
You asked if anyone of us have been Lucia and I haven't and would never want to (except for the one time I was Lucia on a game... we were spreading christmas joy)
Hey, if you want to watch an actual Luciatåg, here's one with english subtitles! ruclips.net/video/vl6o4mG25Ec/видео.html
Also, lussekatter is a type of sweet yeasted dough with saffron, and pepparkakor are also called gingersnaps I believe? But I think there are more spices in the swedish version (cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom). It's super easy to make.
Glögg is mulled wine, but unlike the german glühwein (which is made from normal red wine), it's actually more like a port (the alcohol by volume is around 15%). We also don't have orange juice in ours, just dried peels from citrus fruits and spices. It's also typically much sweeter than than glühwein.
I have also been in several Luciatåg and have even been Lucia once... because I can sing ;)
In pre-school, I was Stjärngosse and once Elf - but in Sweden, a santa's elf is like a beard-less santa claus - as we say Tomtenisse.
If I would start singing Lucia-songs at work my boss would send me home on sick leave 😂😂 It’s not something we do in work places however some places can have a visit from a Lucia and her entourage
Glögg is like mulled wine but often it has more alcohol than wine, distilled spirits are often added.
I have been in many trains, but never the Lucia. But I was a soloist singer a couple of times, because I had one of the best voices in my class. But was not the most “popular” nor the prettiest girl in the class. 😂😂😂 But we mostly had electric candles, at least when we were really small.
Lucia is actually something we *celebrate* and take *seriously* here in Sweden. When it's the 13th of December, you kind of stop and hope to see a Lucia train during the day you work. If you see one, you stop what you're doing and just listen and watch. You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate this. I think you get a flashback from the past only. But it's at least very nice to see Lucia with her * minions* go their way and sing. I appreciate it anyway.
Russin is raisin in swedish.