waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white andTwo very different events, one originating in India and the other in Europe - and both of which could be described as ‘celebrations of light’ - are now held in Britain every year between mid-October and mid-December. The occurrence of these events is one indication of the multi-cultural nature of modern British life. One is Diwali, the Hindu festival, and the other is the traditional Swedish ‘Lucia Day’.

Diwali - the Festival of Lights - is the most popular Hindu religious festival, and marks the Hindu New Year. Because Diwali is a date in the Hindu calendar, which is based on the lunar cycle, the date in the western calendar varies from year to year between mid-October and mid-November.

Lucia, in contrast, is a Swedish event of medieval origin that takes place every year on December 13th and recognises the need for goodness and light to overcome the darkness during the longest nights of the year. Using the modern calendar, the longest night is that of 20th/21st December, but Lucia dates from the time of the older Julian calendar. December 13th is also the feast day of the 4th century Sicilian Saint Lucia who, I guess, has about as much real connection with Sweden as St George does with England. The story – as I heard it – goes that Lucia was a pious Christian woman who was loved by a nobleman. She didn’t care for him and wished to go on with her religious life, so she refused to marry him. His response was to have her killed, and so she became a martyr.

In the traditional Swedish ‘festival of light’, Lucia is a girl or young woman, wearing a white robe with a red ribbon round her waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white and

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Diwali - the Festival of Lights - is the most popular Hindu religious festival, and marks the Hindu New Year. Because Diwali is a date in the Hindu calendar, which is based on the lunar cycle, the date in the western calendar varies from year to year between mid-October and mid-November.

Lucia, in contrast, is a Swedish event of medieval origin that takes place every year on December 13th and recognises the need for goodness and light to overcome the darkness during the longest nights of the year. Using the modern calendar, the longest night is that of 20th/21st December, but Lucia dates from the time of the older Julian calendar. December 13th is also the feast day of the 4th century Sicilian Saint Lucia who, I guess, has about as much real connection with Sweden as St George does with England. The story – as I heard it – goes that Lucia was a pious Christian woman who was loved by a nobleman. She didn’t care for him and wished to go on with her religious life, so she refused to marry him. His response was to have her killed, and so she became a martyr.

In the traditional Swedish ‘festival of light’, Lucia is a girl or young woman, wearing a white robe with a red ribbon round her waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white and

nd recognises the need for goodness and light to overcome the darkness during the longest nights of the year. Using the modern calendar, the longest night is that of 20th/21st December, but Lucia dates from the time of the older Julian calendar. December 13th is also the feast day of the 4th century Sicilian Saint Lucia who, I guess, has about as much real connection with Sweden as St George does with England. The story – as I heard it – goes that Lucia was a pious Christian woman who was loved by a nobleman. She didn’t care for him and wished to go on with her religious life, so she refused to marry him. His response was to have her killed, and so she became a martyr.

In the traditional Swedish ‘festival of light’, Lucia is a girl or young woman, wearing a white robe with a red ribbon round her waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white and

ngland. The story – as I heard it – goes that Lucia was a pious Christian woman who was loved by a nobleman. She didn’t care for him and wished to go on with her religious life, so she refused to marry him. His response was to have her killed, and so she became a martyr.

In the traditional Swedish ‘festival of light’, Lucia is a girl or young woman, wearing a white robe with a red ribbon round her waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white and

waist and, on her head, a Lucia crown made up of candles. Once upon a time they used real candles, but too many girls set their hair on fire, so now battery-powered candle-shaped lamps are usually used instead. In the procession, Lucia is attended by several more girls, also dressed in white and carrying candles. Boys, known as 'star boys', also participate: they, too, are similarly dressed in white and wear pointed caps. Lucia and her attendants visit public places like hospitals and old peoples’ homes and sing traditional songs such as Sankta Lucia, which you can listen to in Swedish by visiting the website http://www.luciamorning.com/music.html and clicking on ‘Play’. They also usually hand out coffee, gingerbread biscuits and 'lussekatter', a special form of saffron-flavoured bun. In most factories and offices, some of the company’s staff carry out this ceremony and most employees attend. It takes place at about 7 o’clock in the morning, before work; however, where I worked at least, mulled wine was always served along with the coffee (you needed both at that time on a dark, cold December morning), and productivity was definitely low for the rest of that day. In most Swedish homes, the children love to perform the ceremony for their parents, with the role of Lucia traditionally going to the oldest daughter. In the absence of children of suitable age, some wives act as Lucia for their husbands.

To find out more about Lucia in Sweden, you can Google “lucia+sweden’, which will offer a wide choice of sites, including official government and tourist information sites. Lucia is also celebrated by Swedish communities all around the world, and in England I know for sure that processions will take place at the Swedish Church, Embassy and School and in the homes of many Swedish families who live here. People may be more surprised, however, to learn that in recent years Lucia has also been celebrated on a larger scale in a major London cathedral: in 2002, the event was held in Southwark Cathe