[7] In Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which symbolizes bringing the Light of Christ into the world's darkness.

[7][8] In both Catholic and Protestant churches, boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmastide, such as that of Saint Stephen or generic gingerbread men, Santa Clauses, or nisses.

An inscription in Syracuse dedicated to Euskia mentioning St. Lucy's Day as a local feast dates back to the fourth century A.D., which states "Euskia, the irreproachable, lived a good and pure life for about 25 years, died on my Saint Lucy's feast day, she for whom I cannot find appropriate words of praise: she was a Christian, faithful, perfection itself, full of thankfulness and gratitude".

[10][11] Later, Christian missionaries arrived in Scandinavia to evangelize the local population, carrying the commemoration of Saint Lucy with them, and this "story of a young girl bringing light in the midst of darkness no doubt held great meaning for people who, in the midst of a North Sea December, were longing for the relief of warmth and light".

Some of the practices associated with the Feast of Saint Lucy may predate the adoption of Christianity in that region, and like much of Scandinavian folklore and even religiosity, is centred on the annual struggle between light and darkness.

In Scandinavia (until as late as the mid 18th century) this date was the longest night of the year, coinciding with Winter Solstice, due to the Julian Calendar being employed at that time.

In the Roman Empire, 25 December (in the Julian Calendar) date was celebrated as being the day when the Sun was born, the birthday of Sol Invictus, as can be seen in the Chronography of 354.

According to the legend, she was threatened to be taken to a brothel if she did not renounce her Christian beliefs, but they were unable to move her, even with a thousand men and fifty oxen pulling.

Instead, they stacked materials for a fire around her and set light to it, but she would not stop speaking, insisting that her death would lessen the fear of it for other Christians and bring grief to non-believers.

[17] In one story, Saint Lucy was working to help Christians hiding in the catacombs during the terror under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and in order to bring with her as many supplies as possible, she needed to have both hands free.

The tradition of Lussevaka – to stay awake through the Lussinatt to guard oneself and the household against evil, has found a modern form through throwing parties until daybreak.

[21] There is little evidence that the legend itself derives from the folklore of northern Europe, but the similarities in the names ("Lussi" and "Lucia"), and the date of her festival, 13 December, suggest that two separate traditions may have been brought together in the modern-day celebrations in Scandinavia.

Saint Lucy or Lucia, whose name comes from the Latin word "lux" meaning light, links with this element and with the days growing longer after the Winter solstice.

[23] Sicilians recall a legend that holds that a famine ended on her feast day when ships loaded with grain entered the harbour.

This usually takes the form of cuccìa,[22] a dish of boiled wheat berries often mixed with ricotta and honey, or sometimes served as a savoury soup with beans.

[24] St. Lucy is also popular in some regions of North-Eastern Italy, namely Trentino, East Lombardy (Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi and Mantua), parts of Veneto (Verona), parts of Emilia-Romagna (Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Bologna), and all of Friuli, where she is said to bring gifts to good children and coal to bad ones the night between 12 and 13 December.

[25] The real reason wheat was and is planted at this time, or on 4 December, the Day of Saint Barbara,[26] is because the density, color and richness of the shoots will foretell how the upcoming yield will be, as well as increase the chances of it being a good one.

The regional Lucies visit shopping malls, old people's homes and churches, singing and handing out gingernut cookies (pepparkakor).

They participate in the singing and also have a song or two of their own, usually Staffan Stalledräng, which tells the story about Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, caring for his five horses.

Some trace the "re-birth" of the Lucy celebrations in Sweden to the tradition in German Protestant families of having girls dressed as angelic Christ children, handing out Christmas presents.

The Swedish variant of this white-dressed Kindchen Jesus, or Christkind, was called Kinken Jes, and started to appear in upper-class families in the 18th century on Christmas Eve with a candle-wreath in her hair, handing out candy and cakes to the children.

[36] In 2024, Daniela Owusu, a Finnish Ghanaian woman became Finland’s first Black Lucia, sparking racist abuse and tens of thousands of hate messages on social media.

The tradition was directly imported from Sweden by initiative of Franz Wend, secretary of Föreningen Norden, as an attempt "to bring light in a time of darkness".

The night before candles are lit and all electrical lights are turned off, and on the Sunday closest to 13 December Danes traditionally attend church.

Like the Swedish tradition, and unlike the Danish, Lucy is largely a secular event in Norway, and is observed in kindergartens and schools (often through secondary level).

While rarely observed at home, parents often take time off work to watch these school processions in the morning, and if their child should be chosen to be Lucia, it is considered a great honor.

[40] The lyrics are also notable in that the words "Sicilia" and "Lucia" do not follow usual Sámi orthography, as when written like this they should be pronounced "Sitsilia" and "Lutsia" but are sung as "Sisilia" and "Lusia".

[42] The celebration of St. Lucy's Day is popular among Scandinavian Americans, and is practiced in many different contexts, including (but not limited to) parties, at home, in churches, and through organizations across the country.

The public St. Lucy celebration in Lindsborg, Kansas, is a way to display the town's Swedish heritage, and serves as a rallying point for the community.

First, the campus community is invited to submit nominations of any sophomore woman who exemplifies the qualities of courageous leadership, service to others, strength of character, and compassion and therefore is a light to others.