Sankta Lucia

Augustana's annual celebration of the Festival of Sankta Lucia commemorates the holiday with traditional Scandinavian Christmas carols, lessons and poetry.

NOTE: Lucia is held in Ascension Chapel this year, which is on the second floor of Founders Hall. There is no elevator. Instead, there is a single chair lift. Please plan to arrive early. Visitors must be masked.

The Sankta Lucia Festival is a cherished tradition of the Advent season in all the Nordic countries. A candlelight procession of singers is led by a young woman robed in white with a crown of candles on her head, to commemorate the martyred St. Lucy (d. 304 AD), whose feast day is Dec. 13.

Over the centuries, this Sicilian saint from the early Catholic Middle Ages has become a fixture in Lutheran Sweden, where she came to represent the return of light to the dark, cold winter season and point toward the hope of Christmas.

For the festival, a senior student majoring in Scandinavian Studies is chosen to play the role of Lucia.

Music in the program is drawn from the Advent and Christmas traditions of the historic Augustana Lutheran Church and the other Swedish-American denominations in the United States.

The singing is led by the Swedish language students and campus organist, Chris Nelson.

The celebration is hosted by Augustana's Scandinavian Studies Program, together with the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, the American Scandinavian Association at Augustana, and Campus Ministries.