{"id":1507,"date":"2012-12-13T23:30:17","date_gmt":"2012-12-13T23:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2014-08-22T18:40:20","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T18:40:20","slug":"a-glimpse-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/a-glimpse-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"A Glimpse of Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

Svart senker natten seg<\/strong>
\nI stall og stuer.<\/strong>
\nSolen har g\u00e5tt sin vei,<\/strong>
\nSkyggene truer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inn i v\u00e5rt m\u00f8rke hus<\/strong>
\nStiger med tente lys<\/strong>
\nSancta Lucia, Sancta Lucia \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Black the night descends<\/em>
\n in stables and rooms.<\/em>
\n The sun has gone away,<\/em>
\n the shadows menace.<\/em><\/p>\n

Into our dark house<\/em>
\n Rises with lighted candles<\/em>
\n Sait Lucia, Saint Lucia\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the beginning of a song that has been sung by\u00a0barn<\/strong>\u00a0(children) all over Norway today. It is\u00a0Luciadag<\/strong>\u00a0(Lucy\u2019s Day), and even though it\u2019s December the 13th, it hasn\u2019t really anything to do with\u00a0jul<\/strong>\u00a0(Christmas)\u2026<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Luciadagen<\/strong>, children in\u00a0skoler<\/strong>\u00a0(schools) and\u00a0barnehager\u00a0<\/strong>(kindergartens) \u2013 and even in some private\u00a0hjem<\/strong>\u00a0homes \u2013 dress up in white garments. With lighted\u00a0stearinlys<\/strong>\u00a0(stearin candles) in their hands, they form a beautiful procession while they walk and sing. One of the children, most often a\u00a0jente<\/strong>\u00a0(girl), wears a wreath with four candles on her head. She\u2019s called the\u00a0Luciabrud<\/strong>\u00a0(Lucy bride), and is the leader of the procession.<\/p>\n

The tradition of Luciadag has spread to Norway from its neighbour Sweden. Originally it is a Catholic celebration of Lucia, a woman in Sicily who became a martyr when she was killed around the year 300. (Maybe you\u2019ve heard about a Caribbean country called Saint Lucia, it\u2019s also got its name after her.)<\/p>\n

Today, the Luciadag has lost its religious meaning to most people. It is rather like a glimpse of light in the darkest time of the year. (Remember that in Northern Norway, there is no daylight at all during the winter months\u2026) It is also a nice opportunity for kids to carry a candle and eat lots of delicious\u00a0lussekatter<\/strong>\u00a0(Lucy cats), which are small yellow saffron buns that are baked especially for this day.<\/p>\n