Swedesburg hosts 31st Saint Lucia observance

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

SWEDESBURG ? You have to hand it to Swedesburg. Not only do they talk the talk, they walk the walk.

The small, unincorporated community in Henry County has done all it can for more than a century in keeping Swedish customs alive.

In addition to the Midsummer observance ? also known as St. John?s Day ? in June, the other significant event happens six months later with the Saint Lucia celebration the second Monday in December (December 12 this year). In Sweden, the observance, called either Saint Lucy?s Day or the Feast of Saint Lucy, is always on Dec. 13, which is the longest night of the year (coinciding with the winter solstice) in the Scandinavian country. At the time the tradition began, the Julian calendar was employed in Sweden, hence the difference in dates for the winter solstice, which now is Dec. 20.

Anna Beckman, daughter of Roger and Marjorie Beckman, of Mt. Pleasant, will reign over this year?s ceremony at the Swedish Heritage Museum in Swedesburg. It also should be noted that Mt. Pleasant?s Anna?s Pantry, owned by Marjorie Beckman, is named after her daughter.

?We always have it on the second Monday in December,? related Louise Unkrich, who has a hand in all 31 Saint Lucia observances in the community and also has had grandchildren and a great grandchild serve as Lucia. ?The reason why we have it that day is because that is when we have the monthly meeting of the Swedish Heritage Society.?

The meeting follows a potluck meal. The Swedish Heritage Museum has over 400 members, Unkrich said. Becoming a member is a simple process and not dependent on Swedish ancestry. ?Anyone who wants to become a member can join,? Unkrich said.

Kari Brown, daughter of Dr. Joel Brown, of Mt. Pleasant, a retired music instructor at Iowa Wesleyan University, served as the first Lucia in 1986.

Unkrich said the tradition began in 1986 because that is when the Swedish Heritage Society was launched. During the past 31 years, many of the Lucias have been grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Heritage Society members. Swedish foreign exchange students also have served as Lucias.

The only requirement is that Lucia be a high-school student and Unkrich said the Society is fortunate because the 2017 and 2018 Lucias already have been determined. ?We never really have had a problem finding a Lucia,? she said.

St. Lucia?s ceremony in Swedesburg is rather simple. Lucia is dressed in a white robe with a red sash and has a crown of candles. ?She takes a platter of cookies around, serving the people in attendance. We all sing the song, ?Santa Lucia,? as she distributes the cookies,? Unkrich explained. Occasionally some of the younger girls in attendance also don a white robe and help in handing out cookies.

?There are usually around 40 people in attendance,? Unkrich remarked. ?We have the potluck at 6 p.m. and the ceremony at 7 p.m. People really enjoy it.?

Similar ceremonies are observed in many communities with Swedish and a Lutheran heritage, Unkrich said. She said she knows of two others in Iowa ? Stanton and Stratford ? and also Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., observes the occasion. ?There are probably more, too. Any large Lutheran Swedish church probably does it.?

So what is the legend of Saint Lucia?

According to Wikipedia and other literature, Christmas is probably the best loved and most traditionally celebrated of Swedish holidays. The highlight of Swedish Yuletide is the visit of Saint Lucia, the queen of light, who comes to spread light in the darkest of winter months.

The legend of Saint Lucia began in the third century. The Roman emperor was trying to stamp out the troublesome Christians, who committed the sin of daring to worship someone other than him.

The maiden Lucia, born in about the year 283, came from a wealthy family in Syracuse, Italy, where she was betrothed to a Roman legionnaire. It is said that when he found out she had given her dowry to the poor, the legionnaire turned her in as a Christian.

Roman authorities did whatever was necessary to learn the truth. When she would not recant, they tried to blind her. When they could not succeed in taking her eyesight, she was condemned to be burned at the stake. When even that did not kill her, they stabbed her to death.

The martyred Lucia became the patron saint of the blind. When Christians finally conquered Rome, it was safe for the City of Syracuse to claim Lucia as its patron saint as well. It is thought that Viking traders who had become Christians, brought the story of Saint Lucia with them back to Sweden.

The legend of the beloved Lucia fit in well with the Swedes? yearning for light in the midst of winter?s darkness, and so they made this legend their own.

Adding to the saint?s reputation was the telling of a great hunger in parts of Sweden when drought and famine plagued the impoverished people in the country.

On the darkest night ? with people literally dying of hunger ? they saw in the darkness a ship of salvation coming across a lake. They also believed they could see an angelic figure clad in white with a halo surrounding her head.

The ship was laden with food, which the saint then distributed to the starving people. When everyone was fed, she disappeared as silently as she had come. The people recognized the young woman as Saint Lucia and never forgot her, and the tale took root in folk wisdom.

Saint Lucia?s legend lives on in Sweden today in many homes.

Every Dec. 13 before dawn, a young girl, often the oldest daughter, dresses in a long robe of white tied with a crimson sash. Atop her head is a crown with green leaves that holds seven candles.

She serves coffee and saffron buns to the other members of the family, and they all join in singing the traditional ?Santa Lucia? song, which is a Neapolitan tune sung with Swedish lyrics. Some schools and towns in Sweden also have Lucia processions, which include singing ?Santa Lucia? and other traditional Christmas songs.

Because Lucia Day falls during the Nobel Prize presentations in Stockholm, it has become a tradition for Lucia to awaken the prize winners in the early hours of the morning with the traditional coffee and saffron buns. Some startled recipients have compared the experience to seeing the appearance of an angel.

Although the observance is alive and well in Swedesburg, many of the organizers are in their autumn years of life.

Unkrich, who claims her age as 45x2+2, said she is confident the tradition will continue. ?I can see it lasting another 15-20 years,? she said. ?We enjoy working together and doing things together.?