Lucia celebration

Lucia is a festival occurring on December 13, or Lucia Day. Lucia is a young girl, wearing a white garment and with a Lucia crown with candles on her head. She is followed by a number of girl attendants, also dressed in white and with candles in their hands. There are also boys, 'star-boys', participating in the ceremony. They, too, are dressed in white and they wear pointed caps. Lucia and her attendants visit places like schools, hospitals, offices and churches and sing traditional songs like Sankta Lucia. They may also bring coffee, gingerbread biscuits and 'Lucia cats', a kind of saffron bun. The Lucia tradition is based on the legend of a pious Sicilian girl who wanted to devote her life to God instead of marrying. When she refused the proposal of a nobleman she was killed, and subsequently she became a martyr.