Lucia Advent Post Correction

The Wrong Video Got Posted—This Is Not Important But In Case You Are Interested...

This is the official TTB approved Lucia performance I generally re-post every year, not the Jonna Jinton one that got posted yesterday, which annoys me at many levels, though it is aesthetically lovely.

(Have you ever noticed that YouTube videos suddenly swap places on you?)

This morning I am noticing for the first time that in this video above, all the girls in the are wearing the read sash, which I, as a traditionalist, consider to be very wrong.

Only Lucia should wear the sash.

I imagine it was some kind of anti-hierarchy or “equality” move, a good 16 years ago; Today most Lucia processions contain this modernization of red sashes for all. But I like the singing and tempo in this video.

Now that we’re on the subject, this video, despite featuring a collaborator with a Mason symbol brandished (a skull) does a great job with the whole history. I think Christian syncretism is interesting and I’m not phobic of understanding how paganism and Christianity entangled. They’re just facts.

In Sweden, Lucia starts in the pitch dark pre-dawn hours, around 4 am, and she leads her “tåg” (train) across a snowy field, piercing the darkness with light and song, as they make their way to a house, where they enter and sing at the bedside of somebody. They serve on trays, saffron buns and perhaps glögg, (which I will be serving tonight for the family, in Granada.) Better get busy.

It is, as the historian man says, a very powerful experience, and we often went to the Lutheran Church on Central Park West in NYC, and attended the Lucia procession. When they came into the darkened church I always cried—a small remnant of homesickness for my childhood second homeland. In one of those performances, arranged by the New York City “Svenska Kyrkan” (Swedish Church) my sister Bibi, who is a singer and song writer, (subscribe to her Substack for very moving stories of music and ministry) was in the “tåg,” and you can see her here in my video, at the 1:29 mark (smiling.)

Lastly, I have one memory of being about 14, and our school arranged a “Lusse tåg” though the countryside to the home of one of our teachers. At 4 am! And we appeared with our offerings at said teacher’s bedside.

Seems incredible that these things happened but they did. I wonder if they still do that. Imagine being the teacher! You’d have to make sure your house was clean and your pajamas were not embarrassing.

All Swedish houses are clean, all the time. Same in Spain.

I have to fight really hard to keep up.

Hence, got to run!