Yesterday morning (December 13th) before the sun arose, I was sitting in the wing chair having coffee when it suddenly occurred to me, "Today is the feast of St. Lucy. What is it we usually do on this day?" Then I remembered the tradition of the eldest girl of the family (or in our case, the most interested girl) rising before dawn to prepare cakes and hot cocoa, then bringing them upstairs on a tray. She should be wearing a white dress with a red sash, and her hair would be shining in a wreath of candles.
Alas, sipping my coffee at my most leisurely and quiet hour of the day, I knew well that this would not be happening in our home this year. After morning Mass, I ran into the store for chocolate bars, custard buns, and other necessities. I called a local friend and asked if her girls might like to come over for an hour around dusk--wearing white dresses, if possible. Suddenly, we had all the makings of a beautiful St. Lucy's Day celebration, even if it did not follow tradition precisely.
Just after nightfall, we turned off every single light in the whole house. The girls (and one little brother--the older ones were all out) went up to the attic with only a few pillar candles. They began with a prayer to St. Lucy.
The candlelit attic:
They processed down the stairs singing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."
"O Come Thou Wisdom from on high . . . ."
"O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free . . . ."
Down one more flight to the main floor:
And into the dining room, still singing.
They used the light from the St. Lucy's candles to light the thirteen candles on our yule log(s).
And the three candles on the Advent wreath.
They said a beautiful prayer over the Advent candle:
O God, as light comes from this candle,
May the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,
Warming our hearts and brightening our way.
May Christ our Savior
Bring life into the darkness of this world,
And to us, as we wait for his coming.
Amen.
Then it was just about time for some St. Lucy's Day treats, but that will need to wait for another post!
Oh this is a lovely way to celebrate St Lucy's day! :-)
Posted by: Ellie | December 15, 2016 at 06:57 AM
::happy sigh::
Posted by: Lissa | January 01, 2017 at 11:00 PM