Learn English with American Primary School Textbooks

Chapter 51 Custom Custom Culture (4)
On the day, girls in Sweden dress up as Santa Lucia wearing a white dress and a crown of candles. Boys carry a candle and wear a kind of white pyjama. They wear hats that are pointy with golden stars on them.
In Sweden people do not wear candles anymore because before girls caught their hair on fire very often. Today they use modern candles with batteries in them.
After lunch most schools close on Santa Lucia day around noon. It is a national holiday of Sweden. In big cities in Sweden there are beauty contests where some women dress up as Santa Lucia and the judges and the people vote for the Santa Lucia of the year. There are also special foods for Lucia's Day like spicy gingerbread biscuits. In schools people sing Santa Lucia's song.
As To Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia was a saint because of her kindness and her love. She was an Italian Christian who lived in Sicily in the 4th century. Some people believed she once visited Sweden.
The way she became a saint was that a man loved her but Lucia didn't like him. Lucia's mother asked her to marry the man but she refused, so the man said he would burn her. But Lucia prayed to God to have the power to survive the fire. Because of her kindness her wish was granted. The man then got a sword and stuck it into Lucia's throat.
There is also another story for her being a saint which goes like this.
Saint Lucia was a very kind person and a man loved her very much but she didn't like him. The thing the man loved most about Saint Lucia was her eyes. Then she gave him her eyes. But a miracle happened, she grew back her eyes and this time they were even more beautiful than ever. The man asked for those eyes but she refused, so the man killed her with a knife into her heart.
Vocabulary
Crown [kraun] n. crown, corolla, apex;

vt. to crown, commend

pyjama [p? "d? ɑ: m?, -"d? ? -] adj. pajamas;

n. (large) pajamas
Contest ["k?ntest, k?n"test] vt. Arguing, questioning;
vi. to compete, to argue;
n. competition
gingerbread ["d? ind??"bred] n. Gingerbread, flashy things;

adj. Flashy
grant [ɡrɑ: nt, ɡr? nt] vt. Grant, admit, allow;

vi. to agree;

n. grant, appropriation
miracle ["mir? kl] n. Miracles, miraculous people or things, amazing cases
Practice
1. What did Santa Lucia look like?

2. What is the special food for Lucia's Day?

3. Who killed Santa Lucia?

Translation
St. Lucia's Day is a famous traditional festival in Sweden. It is celebrated on December 12th, the day with the shortest day and the longest night in Sweden's cold and long winter, to commemorate the "Goddess of Light" St. Lucia. .

On this day, Swedish girls will dress up as St. Lucia - wearing a long white dress and a flower crown with candles on their heads.The boy holds a candle, wears a white robe and a hat with a gold star painted on it.

Today, people don't light candles in flower crowns, because girls' hair is often set on fire.Now in Sweden, people are starting to use more battery-powered candles.

St. Lucia's Day is a national holiday in Sweden.After lunch at noon on this day, most schools will no longer have classes.Some big cities in Sweden will also hold beauty pageants. Women dress up as St. Lucia, and the judges and the public vote to select the "St. Lucia" of the year.The festival also has its food specials, such as gingerbread cookies.People still sing "Song of St. Lucia" at school.

About St. Lucia:

St. Lucia was a saint known for her charity.He lived in Sicily in the 4th century AD and was an Italian Christian.Some say she has been to Sweden.

There is a saying about the process of Saint Lucia becoming a saint——

A man fell in love with St. Lucia, but St. Lucia did not love him.Her mother offered to marry her to this man, but she refused.This man is going to burn her to death.St. Lucia prayed to God, asking God to give her strength to survive this catastrophe.Because of her love, prayers were answered.Santa Lucia was not burned, so the man took another sword and stabbed Santa Lucia in the throat, killing her.

There is another version of a similar legend about this story——

Santa Lucia is a very loving girl. There is a man who loves her very much, but Santa Lucia doesn't love him.What men love most are the eyes of St. Lucia, and St. Lucia gave him her eyes.But a miracle happened: Santa Lucia grew a new pair of eyes, which were more beautiful and charming than the previous ones.The man still wanted the eyes, but Santa Lucia refused.So the man killed her with a knife.

Exercise
1.What is Santa Lucia like?

2.What is the traditional food for St. Lucia's Day?
3.Who killed Santa Lucia?

1. Wearing a white dress and a crown of candles
2. Spicy gingerbread biscuits
3. A man who loves her
07 Auspicious Food in New Year New Year's auspicious food

For many, January 1 offers an opportunity to forget the past and make a clean start. But instead of leaving everything up to fate, why not enjoy a meal to increase your good fortune? There are a variety of foods that are believed to be lucky and to improve the odds that next year will be a great one. Traditions vary from culture to culture, but there are striking similarities in what's consumed in different pockets of the world: The six major categories of auspicious foods are grapes, greens, fish, pork, legumes, and cakes. Whether you want to create a full menu of lucky foods or just supplement your meal, we have an assortment of recipes, guaranteed to make for a happy new year, or at the very least a happy belly.
Grapes
New Year's revelers in Spain consume twelve grapes at midnight—one grape for each stroke of the clock. This dates back to 1909, when grape growers in the Alicante region of Spain initiated the practice to take care of a grape surplus. The idea stuck, spreading to Portugal as well as former Spanish and Portuguese colonies such as Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru. Each grape represents a different month, so if for instance the third grape is a bit sour, March might be a rocky month. For most, the goal is to swallow all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight.
Cooked Greens
Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason—their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year.
Vegetables
Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seed like appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Italy, it's customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or reenusages and g lentils, just after midnight—a particularly propitious meal because pork has it's own lucky associations. Germans also partner legumes and pork, usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil, the first meal of the New Year is usually or lentils lentils and rice, and in Japan, a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the New Year, includes sweet black beans called kuro-mame.
In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john. There are even those who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year. This all traces back to the legend that During the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, Virginia, ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky.
Pork
(End of this chapter)