Why are they called St. Lucia buns?
The night of December 13th is called Lussinatt, and according to old legend, it was a scary night where light and darkness would fight each other. The Julian calendar considered Lussinatta the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. Lussinatta, with its long night, was the beginning of the Christmas period, when the supernatural being Lussi could spread chaos.
It was her job to check that everything was ready for the Christmas celebrations, and if it wasn’t she would get very angry. The creature Lussi was believed to always have a black cat at her heels. At the same time, we celebrate St Lucia’s Day on the 13th of December, in memory of Saint Lucia from the Catholic faith. These two traditions have been mixed together in modern times.
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Lussekatter i en kurv på et bord.
Lussi’s cat
The name Lucia comes from the Latin word “lucius”, which means shining. The name Lussi has roots in an old Nordic folk story. People would eat a “lussebit” to protect themselves from the evil forces that were out at night. Old superstition says that you must eat evil in order to get rid of it.
When we eat Lussi’s cat, we might get rid of Lussi at the same time. Why aren’t the buns black then? The yellow color is a symbol of the light and the sun that chase away the darkness. St Lucia buns are made with the yellow spice saffron, and they are eaten on Lucia day.
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En svart katt ligger på en grå sofaen og ser inn i kamera.
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