Saint Lucia's Day

Today is St. Lucia's day in Sweden. The link gives lots of good information on Lucia and her holiday, so instead of rehashing that info, I thought I'd mention two memorable Lucias from my past.

The first was 1988 and Sooz and I took our first trip to Sweden, in advance of our move there, on Lucia day itself. On the SAS flight from Newark, in the middle of the night and high over the North Atlantic, a number of young girls put on the white robes (with electric lights in place of the traditional candles) and sang in the aisles for their fellow passengers. It was beautiful, and in retrospect, I was hooked right there and then.

The next one was just 3 years later; we had moved to Chicago a few months before, and Sooz was pregnant with Grant. We really missed our friends and went to the Swedish neighborhood of Andersonville to celebrate Lucia. They did a great job, the celebrations were beautiful and we had a great Scandinavian meal just a few miles from our new home. Our Swedish homesickness was cured for that night at least.

Lots of years have passed since then, but I still remember the beauty of those two Lucia celebrations just as clearly as ever.