It’s interesting to see how these three people think about the reason why we celebrate Lucia. Everyone says it has to do with some saint that got killed and they are somehow right. Lucia can be traced back to a martyr called St Lucia of Syracuse who died in 304 or to a Swedish legend that says that Lucia was Adam’s first wife[1] or to a girl named Lucia who lived in Sicily. Because of this it’s hard to determine the origin of Lucia.
One of the reasons why we celebrate Lucia is because a girl named Lucia who were engaged to a pagan refused to marry him, gave up her virginity to God, and handed out the dowry to the poor. Her fiancé got furious and turned in Lucia to the government as a Christian. The authorities tried to make Lucia give up her Christian believes by taking her to a brothel. Despite all efforts of moving Lucia, she wouldn’t move and therefore they decided to burn her to death at the spot. The flames from the fire didn’t catch her however, and she continued to pass through her believe in God. She was finally killed when a sword cut her throat around 300 AD in Syracuse, Sicily.[2] After her death, Lucia became one of the greatest saints of the Christian church and came to Sweden in the 1000 century along with other Christian saints. There is no real connection with our Lucia celebration and this Lucia more than the name.
In Germany, who was protestant at the time, a person called “Christkindlein” (Christ Child) or “Kinken Jes” (the infant Jesus) was created because they wanted an alternative to the Catholic saint Santa Clause. This Kinken Jes, who was always a girl, wore a white long dress and a crown with candles on her head. This German custom later spread to Sweden and in the 1700 century it was combined with the celebration that marked the beginning of the fast before Christmas. Since the Middle Ages the fast always started on the Lucia Day, December 13th, which continued after Sweden became protestant in around the 1000 century. The fast itself disappeared but the party remained[3].
During the 1700 century the “Kinken Jes” was renamed to “lussebrud” (Lucia bride) and her duty became to include serving drinks and food. The first appearance of the Lussebruden carrying a tray of lussekatter and coffee was recorded in 1764 in Skövde, Västergötland. The Lussebrud only appeared in the high society at the time and it wasn’t until the 1900 century that it spread through the whole country and into every home. In 1927 Stockholms Dagblad, who is the major newspaper for the Swedish capital Stockholm, started to crown the towns Lucia and to create the first public Lucia procession. This is when the spread of Lucia really started. The tradition soon appeared in some parts of Finland where mostly Swedish people lived, in Denmark, Norway and even to some Swedes that lived in the United States[4]. So even if the Lucia tradition has some origins from Germany it has evolved into some unique in Sweden.
A Swede Exploring Swedish Traditions 