A Lucia to remember

A Lucia to remember

With the passing of time, you have the luxury of perspective, and those moments you shared with others long ago take on a different meaning. Usually, it is the nice things we remember pushing the more unpleasant moments behind. I was born in a small rural town in the heart of Sweden. Warm, long summer days and cold, dark, snowy winters. Frozen lakes, skiing and skating, building snow men and watching the snowflakes fall outside my window, imagining the world outside. Traditions were something we held close to us, especially during the long winter months.

There was still a week to go before the big Lucia Day of the 13^th of December. It used to be the longest night of the year in Sweden, coinciding with the Winter Solstice but it changed in the 18^th Century when Scandinavia got a new calendar. There were many stories about Lucia, who she was in history, and Nora tried to read and understand the meaning behind them all and there was one story that stayed in her mind. It was about the girl who brought food to the Christians who were hiding in The Roman catacombs. The crown on her head was lit with candles so that her arms were free to carry nourishments and light the way in the darkness.

It was the weekend before the Lucia of the school was to be chosen. The students had voted and there were now fourteen shortlisted candidates. Nora was one of them. She was surprised to be in the finals but did not think she would win. It was usually the prettiest girls that were chosen and mostly the ones with Scandinavian traditional looks, blond hair and blue eyes and Nora had voted for her best friend Carina, who fitted the picture perfectly. The Lucia would be accompanied by thirteen girls dressed in white robes with tinsel around their heads holding a lighted candle to symbolize the coming of the light. And then there would be a group of boys also dressed in white gowns with cone shaped hats decorated with golden stars. They had their own songs to sing, usually starting with “Staffan was a horse keeper.” A tradition in the village was that the group would visit the town nursing home, bring saffron buns, and ginger cookies and they would sing the Lucia songs “The Night Sleeps Heavily” and “St Lucy bright mirage.”

There was to be a party at Carinas house for all the shortlisted finalists, and Nora was going to stay overnight. She did not think she would get much sleep and she was excited as were the rest of the thirteen girls who had been shortlisted. Ekberg was a small town but had a large school as it took in students from all around the countryside, being a rural farming area. Everybody knew each other as is the way in a small town.

Everything was going well, and people were enjoying themselves when the boys showed up with mulled wine, as was the usual custom. Kirsten was one of the girls who had been shortlisted. She was not liked and it was no secret that it was her “so called” fan club that voted for her. She was spoiled, arrogant and very self-centred. This night she arrived along with her boyfriend, a sharped tonged lad with an enormous ego. Yes, they made the perfect match. She made it clear early in the evening that she would be the Lucia of the year and glared at Nora and Carina with that forever bitchy smile on her face.

Nora did not take much notice until the comments started flying across the room and it appeared that Kirsten had had a little too much to drink. Somebody had obviously spiked the mead with vodka, and it started to take effect.

-        Of course, I wish you all the luck in the world. You will need it.

She joined in with her boyfriend’s laughter.

-        I should have voted for you! You need all the help you can get!

Nora tried not to pay any attention, but it was obvious that Carina was getting more than annoyed.

-        She is a bitch, Nora! She should not be here!

-        Just ignore her! Do not look at her.

Somebody turned up the music and people started dancing. Soon they forgot about Kirsten. Although most of the talk centered around the Lucia celebrations and the coming of the winter holidays the talk eventually returned to the burning Volvo that had lit up the town square the previous week. Nobody knew how it had happened or why and in a small town like Ekberg it was big news. The crowd that arrived at the scene had all worked feverishly to try to put it out. Not an easy task in the dark night with snow and freezing temperatures.

The morning after the party there was a knock on the door. A police officer stood outside asking if they knew anything about the car that had been torched. It belonged to old Svensson who left it parked outside the railway station as he took the train to Stockholm that evening. Nobody knew anything about it, and they were told to keep their eyes and ears open.

Monday morning arrived and there was great excitement in the school as the winner of the Lucia for this year was to be announced. Nora and Carina sat close together in the assembly listening to Mr. Flemming reading the names from the buckets. Carina’s name was already on top of the blackboard and Nora pinched her several times on the arm as the excitement grew. Kirsten was sitting with her group of friends in the front row laughing and applauding when her name appeared on the blackboard, and she threw her long blond hair around her shoulders demonstratively before facing Carina with that pompous grin on her face.

The last votes were about to be announced and Nora was surprised to hear her name being called several times before she realized she was on top of the list on the blackboard! The other candidates had been removed one by one and guess what? Kirsten was also gone! She felt herself blushing as the other students turned around to look at her and moved closer to Carina.

-        Nora, come up here. Let us have a look at you!

Mr. Flemming looked her straight in the eyes and pointed to the desk on the stage. Carina gave her a big hug as she stood up and started to walk down the aisle. Her legs felt very heavy as she walked up the steps and heard the students applauding and yelling “Nora, Nora, Nora.”

-        Congratulations Nora!

Mr. Flemming handed her the crown dressed in lingonberry leaves and red satin ribbon, and she held it in her hands as if it was a diamond tiara. It was then she noticed, this was not a battery-operated crown, this was made for real candles. She was overwhelmed, not even noticing the dour face of Kirsten looking up at her as she once again joined Carina.

A busy time followed. Nora baked traditional saffron buns and gingerbreads. She rehearsed with the other girls and practiced walking slowly and steadily so the candles would not blow out or drip. She got used to the damp rag on top of her head and lost her fear of hair burning and wax running down her face. It was all going well, and she was well prepared for the big day. On Lucia day they started already at 6 in the morning. Nora wrapped the red satin sash around her waist, it was supposed to represent the blood of a martyr. The darkness was absolute out there and the only sound was the crunching of feet on the snow on the newly plowed path down towards the nursing home. Their voices got stronger as they sang the old traditional Lucia songs and some early risers in the houses nearby were looking out of their windows as they lit the candles. Mead and gingerbreads would be on the table this day.

The residence at the nursing home welcomed them with happy smiles when they walked through the dark corridors handing saffron buns and gingerbreads to the rooms. Nora felt proud of herself and tried to imagine what it must have been like for that girl in the catacombs all those years ago.

Later she moved through the assembly hall at school with the choir behind her and held her palms together. All the lights were out, it was dark, quiet, and still and all that was heard was the sound of singing voices. Well, almost.

-        Enjoy! You can be the star today. I don’t mind!

Kirsten! Of course. She had to. Nora did not even glance at her as she passed her, but she could feel the eyes piercing into her back.

Later that morning when the students gathered for morning tea in the canteen the police turned up. The officer who had visited them previously asked for their attention and held up a bronze-colored flip top cigarette lighter.

-        This was found only meters away from the burning car.

-        It has the initials D.A. on it. Does anyone here know anything about it?

Yes, everyone knew who it belonged to. Dag Andersson, Kirstens boyfriend. All faces turned at once to Dag, then Kirsten.

-        I think, said the officer, the both of you should accompany me to down to the station.

Nora looked over to Carina, both shaking their heads in disbelief with a look of shock and bemusement.

Yes, it certainly was a Lucia to remember.