Celebrate December 13 with children and families in Sweden. It's Luciadagan, St. Lucia Day, when children serve coffee and buns to adults.

• 1.

  Find out about Luciadagan, or St. Lucia Day, which is a tradition followed in Sweden on December 13. On this holiday, the oldest daughter, called the Lucia bride, wears a crown of candles. Her sisters carry candles. Sons, called Star Boys, wear star hats. Children serve coffee and saffron buns to the adults in their family. Why is the day celebrated?

• 2.

  To make a festive St. Lucia Day Star Hat, decorate poster board using Crayola® Metallic Crayons, Crayola Metallic Colored Pencils, and Crayola Glitter Glue. Dry.

• 3.

  Roll the poster board into a cone large enough to fit your head. Glue the edges with Crayola School Glue. Trim off any uneven part at the bottom with Crayola Scissors.

• 4.

  Cut out yellow construction paper stars. Decorate stars with glitter glue. Glue to your hat. Dry.

Standards

• LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
• MATH: Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two column table.
• SCI: Investigate and explain that for an object to be seen, light must be reflected off the object and enter the eye.
• SS: Compare ways in which people from different cultures think about and deal with their physical environment and social conditions.
• SS: Give examples of and explain group and institutional influences such as religious beliefs, laws, and peer pressure, on people, events, and elements of culture.
• VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
• VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.
• VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.
• VA: Identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: Hanna's Christmas by Melissa Peterson; Lucia and the Light by Phyllis Root; Lucia Morning in Sweden by Ewe Rydaker
• St. Lucia Day marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Students investigate a variety of winter holiday traditions in different countries and by various faith communities. Compare and contrast elements of these winter celebrations. Organize research into an electronic presentation for sharing with classmates.
• The sun is the focus of the celebration on St. Lucia Day. Encourage students to research how sunlight affects the Earth, including animals and plants. How is light measured? How do plants use sunlight to live and thrive?