Facts about Lucia - 15 things you (maybe) didn't know

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: September 2026 | What do you really know about Lucia? On December 13, white-clad Lucias, maids and star boys march through Sweden, with candles in their hands and familiar songs. But the tradition is much more varied than it seems. Here we offer 15 interesting facts about Lucia – from a Catholic saint and a dangerous night of Lucia to male Lucias, wild youth antics and a song from Naples.

Facts about Lucia

The Swedish Lucia celebration may feel like an ancient and unified tradition, but it is not that simple. On the contrary, the celebration has grown through a mixture of traditions from different times and places. Saint Lucia from Sicily is just one of many pieces of the puzzle. Here are 15 things you might not know about Lucia!

1. Lucia was a real person – but much is legend

Saint Lucia lived in Syracuse in Sicily at the end of the 3rd century and was martyred during the Roman period. She died around 304 and was later venerated as a Christian saint. Her feast day is December 13.

But the colorful stories about her life should not be read as a reliable biography. According to the legend of the saint, Lucia was a young woman from a wealthy family who had vowed to live in chastity. When her mother recovered from a serious illness, Lucia donated her dowry to the poor. The man who had planned to marry her was furious and denounced her for her Christian faith.

Lucia was to be taken to a brothel, but could not be moved. They tried to burn her, but the flames did not harm her. In the end, she was killed with a sword or a dagger. So the legend goes – but we know much less about what really happened to the historical Lucia.

2. The Swedish Lucia celebration is a historical concoction

How is it that a secularized and Protestant country far up in the North celebrates a Catholic saint from Sicily? The answer is roughly: We don't – at least not only.

Our modern Lucia celebration has grown out of many different traditions. There is the Italian saint, the old Lussenatte, western Swedish party traditions, medieval church plays, star boys, folk costume antics, German influences and significantly more modern elements from Skansen and 20th century newspapers.

The result has been the strange – and quite fantastic – tradition we know today.

3. December 13th was once considered the longest night of the year

In the past, Lucia night was associated with the longest night of the year. The explanation lies, among other things, in the old Julian calendar, which had over time become out of sync with the solar year. The winter solstice therefore fell roughly on Lucia.

That made the night between December 12 and 13 something very special. The darkness was at its deepest – and soon the light would begin to return.

It is tempting to connect today's light-bearing Lucia directly to the winter solstice, but the development of the tradition is considerably more complicated than that.

4. The calendar changed – but Midsummer Night's Eve lived on

In 1753, Sweden switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. This meant that the winter solstice once again fell around December 21–22.

But traditions are stubborn things. The idea of December 13th as the longest night of the year lived on, even though the calendar had changed. And it wasn't just any night. Midsummer's Eve was loaded with ideas about both dangers and supernatural powers.

5. Lucia night could be really scary

Today's Lucia is associated with beautiful singing, saffron buns and candles. In the past, the atmosphere was much more eerie.

In the old peasant society, the night of the lussen was considered a dangerous night when supernatural beings could be on the move. People could also try to predict what would happen in the coming year. Due to the similarity in sound, the name Lucia also sometimes came to be associated with Lucifer.

In different parts of Sweden, a variety of folk tales arose about who Lucia or Lussi really was. There was no unified story – she could be described as everything from a saint and a benevolent woman to a supernatural being. Quite a far cry from today's atmospheric Lucia mornings.

6. "Going crazy" could be a wild youth prank

Nor did the Lusset processions of earlier times bear much resemblance to today's solemn processions.

In western Sweden in particular, young people dressed up would wander around the farms collecting food and drink. There were lusse brides, lusse old women and lusse old men, and it was not uncommon to dress up as the other gender. The celebration could be both playful, rowdy and carnival-like.

Lucia Day was called ”Little Christmas Eve” or ”Lusse Långnatt” in some places, and those who had the opportunity could take the opportunity to eat well. So if someone claims that a truly traditional Lucia celebration must be quiet and solemn, it can be stated that the history is considerably messier than that.

7. The white-clad Lucian may have been inspired by Germany

Where does the image of Lucia as a figure dressed in white with candles in her hair come from?

An important possible influence is the German The Christkindlein tradition. There, a girl dressed in white could portray the baby Jesus and carry a candle on her head, like a symbolic halo. This tradition has been pointed out as a model for the Swedish Lucian's white skar and chandelier.

But as is often the case with old traditions, there is no simple path from a single model to what we do today. The Swedish Lucian grew out of several different customs being mixed and changed.

8. One of the first known Lucias with candles in their hair was a man

Now it gets really interesting! The oldest known evidence of a white-clad Lucia wooing in the morning comes from Västergötland in 1764. That Lucia had angel wings and carried candlesticks in her hands.

But one of the first known descriptions of a white-clad Lucia with candles in her hair is about a farmhand at Skinnskatteberg's manor in Västmanland around 1820. The classic Swedish Lucian with a chandelier thus has an early male representative.

9. Male lucias are not a modern invention

The servant in Skinnskatteberg was no strange exception. During the 18th and 19th centuries, male Lucias appeared at universities. According to the Nordic Museum's chronology, the nation's most beautiful first-year student could get the role of Lucia.

It may be worth remembering when discussions arise today about who can or should be Lucia. The tradition has changed both form and content many times throughout history.

10. The Star Boys didn't belong with Lucia from the beginning

What do the star boys actually do in the Lucia procession? They have a completely different history than Lucia. The tradition has its roots in medieval Catholic church plays and later star boy processions around Christmas and Epiphany. The star boys represented the three wise men who followed the Star of Bethlehem to the baby Jesus.

In older star games, more characters could also be included, such as Herod, Mary, Joseph, soldiers and the Christmas goat. Only later were the star boys baked together with Lucia and became an obvious part of what many of us today consider ancient.

11. Staffan the stable boy was probably not a stable boy

And then we have Staffan, who waters his five foals. Behind Staffan is the Christian martyr Stefanos, who is usually considered the first martyr of Christianity. Stories and songs about Staffan then developed in different ways as the traditions spread north, and in the Nordic countries he gained a strong connection with horses.

The songs about Staffan lived a life of their own for a long time and were sung, among other things, when young people went around between farms during the Christmas period. Eventually, Staffan and his songs also ended up close to Lucia.

READ MORE: Staffan Stalledräng - who was he really?

12. Skansen helped spread Lucia across Sweden

In the 19th century, the Lucia tradition similar to today's was still primarily associated with Western Sweden and certain upper-class and student environments. Then Skansen came into the picture.

In 1892, Lucia began to be celebrated on Skansen in Stockholm to showcase local traditions from western Sweden. At that time, the Lucia celebration was still relatively unknown to many Stockholmers.

Skansen did not invent Lucia – but it contributed greatly to making the regional tradition known to a larger audience.

13. The large public Lucia procession was a success in 1927

The next big step was taken by the newspaper Stockholm Daily. In 1927, the newspaper organized a large public Lucia procession through Stockholm. It was intended both as a Lucia carnival in the electrically lit city and as a way to collect money for the poor.

The following year, Stockholms Dagblad organized a Lucia competition, where the winning Lucian was carried in procession with electric lights in his crown. The idea then spread to other newspapers. Lucia had taken the leap from regional custom and student tradition to a mass media phenomenon.

However, the Lucia procession we recognize today only became widespread around the middle of the 20th century.

14. "The Night Goes by with Heavy Fists" has a melody from Naples.

One of our most Swedish December melodies is actually Italian. The melody to Saint Lucia was published in 1850 by the Italian composer Teodoro Cottrau. Originally the song was a tribute to the district Santa Lucia in Naples, which is located by the sea and is named after the saint.

Only later did the melody receive Swedish lyrics with a connection to our Lucia celebration. Sigrid Elmblad wrote Saint Lucia, bright mirage 1924, while Arvid Rosén wrote the well-known text The night goes heavy with chains 1928.

And are you wondering what "fjät" actually means? It simply means step. ”Stuva” in the next line is an older form of ”stuga”. So the next time you hear The night goes heavy with chains Can you think of Naples?

15. The traditional Lucia procession has never stopped changing

Lucia, bridesmaids, star boys, elves and maybe gingerbread men. It's easy to think that the Lucia procession has "always" looked pretty much the same.

But the different figures come from different traditions and have been merged over time. The Lucia procession we recognize today only became common in the 20th century, and the celebration has continued to change.

It's actually quite typical of traditions. We bring parts from the past, add something new, take away something else – and after a while the result feels as if it has always been there.

Throughout history, Lucia has been both religious and profane, frightening and festive, messy and solemn. From the saint of Syracuse and the dark night of Lussen to today's Lucia procession, it is a tradition that has constantly changed. Perhaps it is precisely this change that is one of Lucia's oldest traditions?

READ MORE: Lucia in the past, present and future – a tradition in constant change

More interesting facts about Lucia?

Did you know all this about Lucia? Or do you have more exciting stories about Lucia and old Lucia traditions to share? Feel free to leave a comment!

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