Celebrating St. Lucy Day

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Who is St. Lucy?

St. Lucy was born around 283 CE in Syracuse, Sicily during the Diocletian Persecution. She was born into a devout noble family and from a young age pledged herself to God, choosing to remain unmarried so that she could instead give her dowry—and her life—to the poor and suffering. Her mother, however, had different plans for Lucy and arranged for her to marry a wealthy pagan man. When Lucy refused, he reported her as a Christian to the authorities. Refusing to recant her faith, Lucy was martyred—gruesomely. If you want to read about it, you can do so elsewhere, but let’s just say she’s the patron saint of eyes for a reason.

Even if you don’t know of St. Lucy, you can likely picture how she is often depicted: a young blonde girl dressed in white robes, a red sash around her waist, and a wreath of candles adorning her head. This image comes from the legend that she would take food and aid to the Christians living in the catacombs. Under the cover of darkness, she would wear a wreath of candles on her head to light the way—her hands were so filled with supplies. Her white dress is a baptismal robe, the red sash, symbolic of the blood of her martyrdom, and the candles signal the light of Christ as well as the name Lucia, which means “light” in Latin.

St. Lucy Day Around the World

With a name that means light, it’s fitting that Lucy’s feast day falls during Advent, a season when the Light of the World is born amid the darkest and longest days of the year. Lucy’s feast day, December 13, was set to align with what used to be the Winter Solstice, and still falls very close to it today. St. Lucy Day is thought to mark a turn from the penitence and solemnity of Advent toward the light and joy of Christmastide. Perhaps this is where the confusion of the 12 Days of Christmas ending on December 25 rather than just beginning comes from? (i.e. St. Lucy Day falls twelve days before Christmas). Just a guess!

St. Lucy Procession with a designated “St. Lucy” and “Star Boys”

St. Lucy Procession with a designated “St. Lucy” and “Star Boys”

St. Lucy Day is celebrated around the world, but is particularly popular in Scandinavian countries. Early on the morning of the 13th, the oldest daughter, dressed as Lucy (crown and all!), arises early and delivers sweet rolls made with saffron (“Lucy buns” or lussekatt) to family members in bed, enacting Lucy bringing food to the hungry. All you millennials who had the Kirsten American Girl Doll growing up know exactly what I’m talking about!

In Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, there are processions throughout cities and churches of girls dressed as Lucy carrying cinnamon rolls and cookies, singing Christmas carols. Boys participate as well—wearing white cone hats decorated with golden stars, they are called “star boys.” Sometimes these processions visit malls, schools, and assisted living facilities as well.

How We Celebrate

I love celebrating St. Lucy Day, not only because there are so many fun traditions surrounding it, but because Lucy is a saint my daughters can identify with. She shows my girls that God equips all people—not just adults, not just clergy, not just men—to live a life of radical obedience. Anytime I can celebrate with my daughters a brave young girl not unlike themselves, who followed Jesus in extraordinary ways, I want to do so with gusto.

St. Lucy Rolls for Neighbors

Our celebration starts the day before when we bake sweet bread to deliver to neighbors on St. Lucy Day. It’s usually cinnamon quick bread or pumpkin bread, because that’s what I know how to do, but maybe some day I’ll learn to bake lussekat. Today is not that day. My only rule is that it has to have cinnamon in it (though really, the key ingredient is saffron)! We always mark the baking day on our Advent Activity Calendar as our activity for the day (under the category of “loving others”).

St. Lucia Buns or lussekat. Recipe and picture from Petit World Citizen.

St. Lucia Buns or lussekat. Recipe and picture from Petit World Citizen.

Rather than having the girls deliver US cinnamon rolls in bed on St. Lucy Day, we like to have them deliver rolls to the neighbors instead (though not in bed, ha!). I do this for two reason: First, it’s practical. The tradition is for the oldest girl to deliver rolls to the rest of the family, but that sounds like a recipe for sibling rivalry to me, so I say no thank you. Further, my girls also aren’t really capable of doing this sort of thing on their own just yet.

Second, delivering baked goods to neighbors, many of whom are not Christians, feels more authentic to who St. Lucia actually was than bringing mom and dad breakfast in bed. As much as possible, I want to teach my children to look outward rather than inward. They don’t typically dress in the white robe and red sash because I don’t want to weird the neighbors out too much, but they do like to wear their “St. Lucy crowns,” which are really just Christmas-themed flower crowns I bought off Amazon, but they are really sweet and work well for the occasion.

St. Lucy Breakfast

So what do we do for breakfast if the girls don’t deliver us St. Lucy buns in bed? On the morning of the 13th, I get up before the kids (a RARITY) and make a Cinnamon Roll Wreath Crown. Trust me, this is easier than it sounds, or I wouldn’t be making it.

  1. Buy a can of cinnamon rolls.

  2. Unroll cinnamon rolls.

  3. Braid cinnamon rolls.

  4. Shape the braid into a circle. Now it looks like a wreath crown.

  5. Put birthday candles in the wreath. Now it looks like St. Lucy’s wreath crown.

We then light the candles and sing a simple song to the tune of “Are You Sleeping” or “Frère Jacques”:

O Saint Lucy, O Saint Lucy

Dressed in white, Dressed in white

Lighting up the darkness, Lighting up the darkness

Shining bright, shining bright

I have Lacy at Catholic Icing to thank for the easy wreath crown cinnamon rolls and song! After singing, we blow out the candles, bless the food and dive in. While I have a captive (and quiet) audience, I talk about who St. Lucy was and why we celebrate her life. We typically do this by reading a book, but I haven’t found one that I love yet, so I’ve written a short lesson about her life that I’ll share in another post.

If it’s unrealistic to squeeze this all in before school and work, the tradition could easily be moved to a post-dinner, dessert. We like doing it in the morning, because it’s a fun way to start out the day and because it’s closer to the tradition followed in Scandinavia, but do what works best for your family!

Being Saints of Light

In the afternoon, we deliver baked treats to our neighbors. Over dinner, we discuss how serving others shines the light of Christ in a dark world. After dinner, would be a great time to drive around and look at Christmas lights—on the feast of the “saint of light”! We typically save looking at Christmas lights until Christmastide, or at least later in Advent, but this seems like a fitting way to mark the slow transition out of the solemnity of Advent and into the joyous light of Christmas.

May we all be like St. Lucy this Advent season, shining the light of Christ for people walking in darkness.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” - Isaiah 9:2

Celebrating St. Nicholas Day

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Who is St. Nicholas?

St. Nicholas was born around 270 AD in Asia Minor, located in modern day Turkey. Though not much is known for certain about his life, his remarkable generosity is undisputed. Nicholas was born into a devout Christian family, and when his parents died, he sold off their belongings and distributed his inheritance among the poor. Nicholas became a priest, and eventually the Bishop of Myra, purportedly attending the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, from which the Nicene Creed (“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty….”)—recited weekly in churches around the world—comes.

Perhaps the most famous story about St. Nicholas is that of the “Three Sisters and the Gold Coins.” Nicholas heard of a man who had three daughters, but no money to pay for their dowry. With no prospect of a husband or employment, these girls would have likely been forced into a life of prostitution. Nicholas heard of their plight, and threw a bag of gold coins—the cost of one dowry—through their open window one night. He did the same thing the next two nights, and the three sisters were saved from a life of misery. There are many stories like this of his secret gift-giving, and his love of children in particular.

Eventually, he was named a saint, and his feast day was set for December 6, when children around the world set shoes or stockings out for St. Nicholas to fill.

How is St. Nicholas Related to Santa Claus?

The name Santa Claus comes from Sinterklass, which is Dutch for Saint Nicholas. St. Nicholas is Santa Claus. How St. Nicholas evolved from a Turkish Bishop to a jolly white man with flying reindeer and workshop in the North Pole is a very long and interesting story for another time. I’ll link to some great resources for further reading below!

When it comes to the question of Santa Claus and St. Nicholas Day, there are two lines you can take as I see it:

  1. St. Nicholas is solely a historical figure and does not give gifts today: You can tell your children that Santa Claus as conveyed in popular culture does not exist, but there was a man named St. Nicholas who did. While we have a lot to learn and celebrate about him, he does not fill their stockings or bring presents. This is just a fun tradition, and you fill their stockings in the spirit of St. Nicholas.

  2. St. Nicholas was a historical figure who continues to give gifts today: You can tell your children that St. Nicholas was a bishop who lived long ago and spread the love of God by giving gifts in secret. Though he died, he lives in Heaven with God now and still continues to give gifts, and fill stockings on St. Nicholas Day. This allows for children to experience the wonder of Santa Claus while staying true to who St. Nicholas really was and is, and keeping it centered on the faith.

How We Celebrate St. Nicholas Day

We have pursued the second option with our family, and here’s how we do it…

It’s probably more popular to set out shoes on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, but we’ve decided to do stockings in our house. On December 6, the girls wake up to their stockings filled with small goodies which always include:

  • Chocolate coins (after the story of St. Nicholas and the gold coins)

  • A clementine (a tradition that symbolizes the gold coins given in the dowry as well as the food St. Nicholas would give to those in need)

  • One dollar (for the girls to give away to someone in need just as St. Nicholas did with his inheritance)

  • A candy cane to symbolize the bishop’s crozier (the stick that looks like a shepherd’s staff)

  • Other small treats

Some years, we have had St. Nicholas come on Christmas as well, leaving a single gift for them, but since we are traveling this year, I don’t think we’ll do that again. Either way, our main focus is his feast day, December 6.

We always read our favorite St. Nicholas book, The Legend of St. Nicholas, and have the girls go through their toys and clothes to donate to those in need. Some years, we don’t have much to donate, so we purchase something for a toy drive. Oh, and there are also TONS of fun St. Nicholas crafts to do.

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At dinner or bedtime, we offer a prayer of thanks for St. Nicholas:

“God of joy and cheer,
we thank you for your servant,
the good bishop Nicholas.
In loving the poor,
he showed us your kindness;
in caring for your children,
he revealed your love.
Make us thoughtful
without need of reward
so that we, too, may be faithful followers of Jesus.”

From All Through the Day, All Through the Year: Family Prayers and Celebrations, by David B. Batchelder, illustrated by Barbara Knutson, copyright © 2000 Augsburg Fortress.

Answering Children’s Questions About St. Nicholas

If you choose to have it be St. Nicholas who fills your kids’ stockings and/or brings gifts, they are going to have a lot of questions. They were going to have a lot of questions about Santa Claus anyways, but the questions about St. Nicholas vs. Santa Claus are going to be different in kind. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here are some that have been helpful to me. Kendra Tierney’s book has been very helpful to me in thinking through how to do Santa without lying to your kids, and I’ll link to her blog below.

Who is St. Nicholas? St. Nicholas was a Bishop (like a priest or pastor) who lived a very long time ago and loved God and people very much—especially children. He was very generous, always giving away money and food to those in need, but he always did it in secret because he wanted people to give glory to God instead of himself.

Then who is Santa Claus? Santa Claus just comes from the Dutch word for St. Nicholas. Santa Claus means Saint Nicholas and they are the same person. But because he lived so long ago, we don’t know a lot about him for certain. We just have the stories that are passed down to us through the years. Sometimes people have different stories about who he was. It’s fine for them to believe that. What’s important is that we remember the basics: A bishop who loved God and gave to others in secret.

Where does St. Nicholas live now? Like all people who die and love God, St. Nicholas now lives in heaven with God. He is still doing God’s work of loving others even from heaven and secretly giving gifts to people.

What about the North Pole? We don’t really know for sure, but some people say he has a workshop in the North Pole even though he lives in heaven.

What about Mrs. Clause? There’s no record of a Mrs. Claus and typically Bishops weren’t allowed to marry, but we don’t know everything about St. Nicholas’s life, so it’s possible there is a Mrs. Claus.

Why does he come to our house on December 6 but to other people only on December 25? St. Nicholas comes an extra day for people who celebrate his feast day. Isn’t that awesome?!

What about flying reindeer, getting around the world in one night, and other seemingly impossible feats? Saint’s stories are full of miracles of God: slaying dragons, healing the sick, taming wolves—so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that a saint might, in God’s power, get around the world in one night, or have reindeer that fly!

Is the Santa we see in the mall the real St. Nicholas? Probably not. They are probably people who are spreading God’s love on St. Nicholas’ behalf.

But won’t children have a crisis of faith in God once they realize St. Nicholas isn’t real? Well, first of all, St. Nicholas IS real ;) He was a faithful man of God who lives in heaven with God now. So I don’t think there’s a crisis of faith to be had. Once my children are old enough, I will explain to them how Jesus ascended to heaven where he lives with God, and the church is called to be his hands and feet on earth. In a similar way, St. Nicholas lives in heaven with God and Jesus, and we continue giving secret gifts on his behalf, spreading the love of God to others.

These are by no means perfect answers, but they’re as honest and straightforward as I’ve been able to work out, and they’ve served us fine so far. When confronted with a question I don’t know how to answer (like when Amelia asked me if the Santa at the store the other day was the real St. Nicholas), I often say, “What do you think?” It’s usually pretty fun to hear their answer!

I hope you feel freedom to celebrate St. Nicholas and know that you are not lying to your children or overshadowing “the reason for the season"—rather, you are showing your children how one faithful man loved Jesus, and how they can do it too!

Further Resources

St. Nicholas Center: This website is the BEST resource out there for all things St. Nicholas—crafts, history, prayers, stories, and more.

St. Nicholas and the Origin of Santa

How to do Santa without Lying to Your Kids by Kendra Tierney

Service At the Loss of a Beloved Animal

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I am about to tell you one of the meanest things I ever recall doing in high school. Please try not to hate me.

I was 15 years old and away at summer camp, rooming with a girl a year or two younger than me. She was sweet and lovely, and she was a “horse person.” You know what I mean, right? One does not just own a horse—one loves, eats, breathes, sleeps, and dies for their horse. One is a horse person. I say this with love and affection for all my relatives and youth I’ve pastored who are horse people.

So, my roommate was a horse person. And naturally we started talking about…you know, horses. And over the course of this conversation she mentioned something about pets in heaven, and I, being the brilliant biblical scholar I was as a sophomore in high school, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that such an idea was absolutely ridiculous.

Obviously I could not keep this information to myself. So, I, knowing full well that she was a horse person— that she loved this horse more than anything in the world—blurted out with glee and certitude, “Wait, you do know that animals don’t go to heaven, right?” She was crushed. She excused herself from the conversation and stepped out into the hallway, where I could hear her crying on the phone to her mom.

It was only years later when I got married and adopted three pets in six months, that I found myself remembering that conversation and wondering not only why I had been such a complete and total jerk, but also why I had been so certain animals don’t go to heaven. After all, isn’t the vision Isaiah gives us of heaven that of a lion lying down with a lamb (11:6)? And doesn’t Paul suggest that all of creation will be redeemed (Rom 8:19-25)? Look, I’m not definitively saying that all dogs go to heaven, but I’m not not saying that either. And I don’t think anyone can definitively say that…especially not 15 year old, jerk Alissa.

My grandfather was a wonderful, joyful man, and he loved animals, even though I never heard him admit to it. He feigned apathy for the cat he and my grandmother took in, but I often caught him chatting to that cat like an old friend, affectionately calling him “buddy.” My grandfather didn’t even try to hide his enjoyment of our 70lb. golden retriever, Henry, even though Henry—poorly trained as he was—repeatedly jumped on him whenever Grandpa would walk into the room.

A few months after he died, Amelia and I were talking about how much we missed PapPap when all of a sudden I saw a light go on in her head. Her eyes lit up and she said excitedly, “Hey! Maybe when Henry dies he can be PapPap’s dog in heaven.” I’m not an expert in childhood development, but I have learned that when children have something to say about spiritual matters, they are usually on to something. Amelia knew how my grandpa and Henry loved each other, and she knew that heaven is a place where we are reunited with our loved ones. I hope she’s right, and I think we have good reason to hope it.

That said, the point here is not what happens to animals when they die, but what we do when it happens. The point is that pets matter. They matter to us, and they matter to God, and when they die, we ought to mark that death, not only because we need to grieve, but because perhaps the God who created them and called them good does too.

It can be difficult to know what to say—or maybe you feel funny saying it. So, I’ve put together a short service that can be used to say goodbye to and/or bury a pet that has passed. It can be led by anyone—especially children—and readings may be distributed among family members. I hope it helps gives expression to your gratitude and grief for a beloved pet some day in the very distant future.

Liturgy for the Loss of a Beloved Animal

Opening Prayer

O God, you created all that is, and you love all that you have made: we come to you this day in grief and with thanksgiving. We grieve the death of our beloved N., who has been our companion for so many years, and we thank you for the gift of their presence among us as a sign of the richness of your creation and of the generosity of your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Reading from Isaiah

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

A few words of remembrance may be offered.

“What I loved most about ______”

“I won’t forget the way s/he________”

Praying in unison:

Let us pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

A burial, or scattering of ashes may take place here, while singing the following hymn.

Hymn: All Things Bright and Beautiful

                        All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small.
                        all things wise and wonderful, the lord God made them all. 

                        Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,
                        He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. 

                        chorus            

                        The purple headed mountain, the rivers running by,
                        the sunset, and the morning that brightens up the sky. 

                        chorus           

                        The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,
                        the ripe fruits in the garden, he made them every one. 

                        chorus

                        He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell
                        how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.

                        chorus  

Closing Prayer

God, your blessed son, Jesus, told us that not even one, tiny sparrow is forgotten in your sight. Give us eyes to see the good in all you have created, and hearts to love and serve you. Amen.

More Resources and Prayers

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/service_at_the_loss_of_a_beloved_animal.pdf

https://www.stmartininthefields.org/wp-content/uploads/Service-at-the-Loss-of-a-Beloved-Animal.pdf

Michaelmas and Guardian Angels

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September 29 is Michaelmas (Michael + mass just like Christ + mass = Christmas), the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. If I’m being completely honest, angels are an elusive topic to me that I rarely think about because reading Revelation weirds me out a little bit.

But this year Amelia is attending a Catholic school and she’s had to memorize The Guardian Angel prayer, a classic for Catholics. I’ll admit, I had my qualms with it at first: the rhyming felt kitschy (jokes on me—it was actually written by a monk in the 11th century) and directing prayers to an angel upset my Protestant sensibilities (we can discuss that another time). Nonetheless, Amelia had to learn it, so we taped it to the door and read it each morning before she left for school.

And you know what? Reciting that prayer day after day changed something in me. That small act of praying so directly for God’s angels to protect my five year old before I send her out the door each morning eased anxieties I didn’t even know I had. Anxieties about her safety, about her not making friends, about whether or not the friends she made would be good ones, and—if I’m being honest—about her being the victim of another school shooting. I’m an Enneagram Six, and worst case scenarios are constantly flashing in my mind.

But reciting that prayer every morning became an act of holding those fears and worst case scenarios up to God and releasing them. It’s a reminder that when Amelia walks out our door, she is in God’s hands, that I am in God’s hands, and that this whole crazy and sometimes terrifying world is, too.

So this Sunday, I’m going to suck it up and read Revelation 12 and be reminded once again that in the battle between God’s angels and the forces of evil, God wins. Always. And then we are going to keep praying that little prayer each morning even though we don’t have to anymore.

If you’d like a copy, you can download it here. I even wrote a Protestant version for all my kindred spirits.

And if you’d like resources on celebrating Michaelmas, I recommend this Step-by-Step guide as well as this post on Michaelmas Traditions by Haley Stewart, who runs a blog called…wait for it….Carrots for Michaelmas.

Happy Michaelmas!

Christmas Pageant 2018

Christmas Pageant 2018

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