Lussi Night and Luciadagen

In Sweden, tonight is Lussi Night and tomorrow is Luciadagen (pronounced LOO-sha-da-gen), or St. Lucia’s Day, or St. Lucy’s Day.

(Because of my broken arm, I have reposted last year's page.)
In the old Julian calendar, December 13th was the day of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. In pagan Sweden the eve of the solstice was called Lussi Night; Lussi was a Swedish demon that rode through the air with her followers; it was dangerous to be out during Lussi Night. But all of winter was dangerous, especially for people in the northern latitudes. As the sun sank lower in the sky each day, people feared that it would disappear altogether and leave them in permanent darkness and cold.
When Christianity came to Sweden, Lussi Night ushered in the feast of St. Lucia, the Queen of Light- and the darkness of Lussi was diminished somewhat. St. Lucy was a Sicilian woman in the reign of Diocletian who became a Christian martyr. Because her name means light, she was appointed to be the patron saint for the eyes. The older Roman goddess Lucina was also the goddess of light, and became the goddess of childbirth, too- bringing children to light.
Now it’s the custom in Sweden for the oldest daughter in the family to play Lucia; she dresses in white, with a crown of candles, and brings coffee and Lucia buns to each member of the family.

Agenda:
1. Lusse-vigil:
In the old days, folks stayed up all night on Lussi Night, to protect the farm from the demons, and finish important tasks. According to tradition, tasks like threshing, spinning, and weaving, as well as the preparations for Yule, had to be finished by Lussi Night, or else the Lussi would come to punish the household, vandalize the farm, and possibly abduct family members (especially naughty children).



Now the evening and night before Luciadagen is a time for people- especially young people- to have all-night parties, called the Lusse-vigil.

I kind of appreciate the idea of a date by which one needs to be finished with holiday tasks; if I was done now, I could better enjoy the season without so much work hanging over my head. On the other hand, I don’t think preparations should feel like work. So, my hope is to finish some gifts tonight so I can send boxes to a few people. And I may need to stay up all night to accomplish that.

2. Set out more candles:
Because Lucia means light, and the theme is the return of the sun, this is the day that I will set up my angel chimes and other special candles.

3. Make Lussekatt:
Lussekatt (St. Lucia bun) is a kind of bun flavored with saffron traditional eaten on Luciadagen. The ends are coiled in a backwards S-shape called a Sun Spiral.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water (110ºF)
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. saffron*
• 1 egg + 1 egg for glaze
• 4-1/2 c. flour
• 24 raisins

Yield: Makes 12 buns-

1- Combine yeast and warm water in a mixing bowl, and stir until dissolved.

2- Warm together the milk, butter, sugar, salt, and saffron. (*Saffron is too expensive for me. I used a recommended substitute: a pinch of turmeric plus 1/8 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika.) Allow it to cool to about 100ºF and stir this into the yeast mixture, with 1 egg.

After rising

3- Stir in the flour to make a soft ball of dough- you may need a bit more flour. Knead on a floured board for 10 minutes (I let the bread hook do the kneading). 




4- Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

5- Punch the dough down and knead again gently. Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a 12" rope. Coil the ends in a backwards S-shape (called a Sun Spiral) and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 25 minutes.













6- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Brush the buns with a glaze of egg and water. Put a raisin in the center of each coil. Bake for about 20 minutes. Serve warm with coffee!