Do the angels appear with platform shoes and dodgy hairstyles?
No, Saint Lucia wears a simple white gown with a red silken sash and a spectacular halo of burning candles. Traditionally, she is accompanied by a group of handmaidens all clad in virginal white. So she is a Catholic saint as well as an angel? Yes, Lucia was a Sicilian Christian who was martyred in 304 AD by the Romans. What is she doing so far north? The Swedes have adopted her as a symbol of faith against adversity; light against dark . . . just what you need to get you through the long Swedish midwinter. Her saint’s day is fused with their own pagan tradition of staying up on the longest night of the year to feast and ward off evil spirits. At what time does Lucia appear? She arrives with her procession at dawn. Where does this take place? At home. The daughters of the house wake their father with the traditional Santa Lucia song, coffee, homemade gingerbread and tongue-tingling saffron buns called lussekatts. Later there are morning parades in nurseries, schools, offices and hospit
