Saint Lucy’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day celebrated on 13 December in Advent, commemorating Saint Lucy, a 3rd-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution, who according to legend brought “food and aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs” using a candle-lit wreath to “light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible”. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a Christian festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy’s Day is viewed as an event signaling the arrival of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar, on Christmas Day.
Saint Lucy’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, with their long dark winters, where it is a major feast day, and in Italy, with each emphasising a different aspect of the story. In Scandinavia, where Saint Lucy is called Santa Lucia in Norwegian and Sankta Lucia in Swedish, she is represented as a lady in a white dress (a symbol of a Christian’s white baptismal robe) and red sash (symbolizing the blood of her martyrdom) with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Norway, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which “symbolizes bringing the light of Christianity throughout world darkness.” In both Protestant and Catholic churches, boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmas, such as that of Saint Stephen. It is said that to vividly celebrate Saint Lucy’s Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light. A special devotion to Saint Lucy is practiced in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, in the north of the country, and Sicily, in the south, as well as in Croatian coastal region of Dalmatia. In Hungary and Croatia, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy’s Day involves planting wheat grains that will eventually be several centimetres high on Christmas, representing the Nativity.
Lussekatter / St. Lucia Saffron Buns
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup milk
- pinch saffron crushed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
- 1/4 cup very warm water
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups flour sifted
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- candied red and green cherries cut up
- 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Scald milk with saffron, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan; cool to lukewarm
- Sprinkle or crumble yeast into very warm water in a large bowl. Stir until yeast dissolves, then stir in cooked milk mixture.
- Beat eggs in a small bowl; set aside 3 tbsp for later; beat remaining into yeast mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of flour until smooth; beat in softened butter until completely blended, then beat in remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until smooth and elastic on a lightly floured pastry cloth or board.
- Place in a greased large bowl; cover with a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place, away from a draft, 1 hour or until double in bulk.
- Punch dough down; knead several times; divide into quarters. Working with one at a time, roll into a rope; cut into 16 even size pieces, then roll each into a 6-inch long pencil thin stip. Cross each two strips on a greased large cookie sheet; curl each end into a small coil; decorate tip of each with a candied cherry squared. Repeat with remaining dough to make 32 buns. Cover; let rise again 30 minutes or until double in bulk. Stir water into saved egg; brush over buns; sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar (optional)
- Bake in hot oven (400º) 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire racks. Serve warm or cold.
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