Christmas is celebrated in so many interesting ways across Europe. But in Sweden, another date is equally important, that of December 13^th, Saint Lucia’s Day.

Saint Lucia, or Saint Lucy, a Christian martyr, is patron saint of blind people, whose name means light. So Saint Lucia processions in Sweden involve a lot of candles, and the singing of the beautiful Santa Lucia.

In the home, the eldest daughter will often wear a crown of candles and a white robe and will serve her parents coffee or mulled wine with traditional Lucia buns, flavoured with saffron.

In many parts of Sweden, there will also be candlelight processions to church on Christmas Eve, or Julafton as it’s called in Swedish, which is when the main festive meal is eaten. According to popular tradition, a rice porridge is served with just one almond in it. The person finding it either gets to make a wish or is said to be going to marry in the coming year, as the tradition varies between families.

Christmas festivities in Sweden go on until January 13^th, which is Hilarymas or St Knut’s Day. This is when traditionally the Christmas tree is thrown out – sometimes literally, out of the window and there are often lots of carnival celebrations going on.

Do you live in Sweden? Have we got our facts right? Do let us know, and also tell us of any other popular traditions which would interest our many followers in 25 Eurozone countries.