Lucia Procession...

...in the replica "Middle Ages" church at Murberget.  It is a very special experience in our modern western world to experience darkness and light in a similar way to our ancestors.

We left modern lights behind us and walked to the church along a dark path through trees, lit by an outdoor candle every 5 meters or so. We felt a slight uncertainty not seeing the ground so well, and our eyes adjusted to low light levels. When we arrived we had to queue to get into the building and when we got in it was absolutely packed. This was probably good because the church is unheated and it was about -5°C so being packed together was a good way to stay warm! There were a dozen of us on the narrow balcony which is normally closed, and many people standing at the back of the church. We stood there in the silence and the dim light, with 6 candles on the distant altar being the only illumination.  We waited and after a minute or so we could hear the singing coming closer. Then the procession arrived, Lucia with the candle headdress and all the other singers carrying a candle each. They brought growing light and song into the church. After that 10 minutes of low light the arrival of 30 candles was amazing! Then we had a half-hour of beautiful Lucia and Christmas songs. There was lots of applause, with that special muffled tone that comes from the audience all wearing thick gloves or mittens.
Lucia's saint's day used to fall on Midwinter's Day. Knowing that gives even more meaning to the candlelit procession, and Lucia with her headdress of candles, as a festival of light. Then the calendar was reformed, the Winter Solstice moved to 22 December, and St Lucia's Day was left stranded on the 13th.
In Sweden it's still a very important day, and many work places, schools, hospitals etc receive a Lucia procession at some time in the day. These singers may be doing this for the tenth time today!
What a lovely experience!
(5 years ago I blipped another candle-lit concert in the same church, but in the front row.)