Girls sing during the Andersonville St. Lucia Festival of Lights

Skip the glitz of the Magnificent Mile and head to Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood for the quaint, culturally rich yuletide excursion of the  St. Lucia Festival of Lights.  You’ll hear greetings of  en riktig god jul (a very merry christmas) echo the area’s deep Swedish roots, of which the St. Lucia festival is the most dramatic.  December 13 marks  St. Lucia Day, the most significant celebration of the Swedish holiday season.  Traditionally, Swedish Christmas officially begins on Sankta Lucia, the shortest day of the year.  The eldest daughter of the household, dressed in a white robe with crimson sash and a crown of lighted candles, sings the Santa Lucia song and carries a tray of  coffee and special saffron buns.  The entire Andersonville neighborhood turns out to watch the glittering procession of  white clad girls carrying candles through the darkened streets.

The festival starts at 4:45PM at the Swedish American Museum, at 5211 N. Clark and the candlelit procession winds down Clark Street, where shop owners stand outside with candles lit to honor St. Lucia.  Afterwards, the museum hosts holiday singing and serves  traditional Swedish treats like pepparkakor ginger cookies and non-alcoholic glogg.  Enjoy the rest of the evening by exploring Andersonville’s Swedish bakeries, shops and restaurants filled with old world charm.

Photo courtesy of the Andersonvile Chamber of Commerce