Lucia, a truly Swedish tradition centred around an Italian saint. At Lunds Studentskegård, Lucia has been celebrated since 1937, but they are not afraid of trying something new. This year a Chinese winter song will be sung, and at the dress rehearsal yesterday it sounded close to perfect.
Rows of long tables with table cloths and white porcelain coffee cups have been lined up in the salon at Studentskegården. In the doorway, ten girls in white nightgowns are helping each other light their candles. Finally, the crown of the Lucia is lit.
“Nobody else wanted to be Lucia”, Ebba Katsler says, about why she was chosen.
“And I’ve been a Christmas elf since I was eight, so it’s fun.”
The Lucia celebration on December 13 is a Swedish tradition, with roots in Christianity as well as in pagan beliefs. Lucia is said to have been an Italian woman who became a Christian martyr and a saint after she was murdered because of her faith.
In Sweden, the Lucia celebration was mixed with the old belief that the night leading up to December 13 – the longest night of the year – was a night when evil beings would appear. To protect oneself against them, one would stay up all night, lighting candles to keep evil at bay. Today there are still many young Swedes who choose to stay up through the night. Common methods today are partying, or going to the film marathons at the cinemas.
At Lunds Studentskegård, tradition dictates that the people who have moved to the all-female students’ rooms over the past year should sing for the others in the house. Magdalena Uggmark, vice aedil, says that on the one hand, you can’t make somebody do it, but on the other hand it’s not really a choice. At least, she has never heard of anyone trying to get away.
Apart from the Lucia song, six more songs are to be sung, and a few poems will be read. The maids often check that the glitter is still on their heads.
Behind the piano sits Caroline Björnerås. 
It’s been three years since she sang, but she was neither a maid nor Lucia.
“I was a stjärngosse! I thought it was a fun idea.” (The stjärngosse is traditionally a role played by boys at Lucia celebrations.)
An unusual addition to the Lucia celebrations at Studentskegården is a song in Chinese. It’s Danfeng Zhang who has been teaching the song to the other girls. A translation of the song’s name to English would be something like: “Searching for the wintersweet during the winter”, says Danfeng Zhang.
“But it’s not a Christmas song,” she explains. “We don’t have Christmas in China.”
The girls have gone through the whole repertoire once, complete with marching in and out. Now they want to do all the songs one more time, to make sure they really know them when it’s time for the real celebration.
Let the Lucia-train at Studentskegården wich you a happy christmas.
[audio:http://lundagard.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/We-wish-you-a-merry-christmas.mp3|titles=Dec13]
text: Sara Dahlman
translation: Matilda Lundborg
