Evening star., 1939-12-14
Sweden Celebrates
Festival Of Light
Amid War Gloom
Lucia Day Emphasizes
Sentiment for Unity
Against Threat
By WALTER DURANTY.

~ AOOAAAA O~3A'Ab wv - O~~S ~
the oldest. most touching and most
beautiful festivals in Sweden's
ancient history occurred yesterday.
It was Lucia Day." which is con-
nected now with the name of st.
Lucia-as Christianity captured so
much of pagan symbolism-but it
really means the day Of Lucia,
priestess of light-like Lucifer, "the
light -bringer' coming marks
the turn of the solstice in the dark
est period of the Northern winter.
The festival goes back countless
centuries, and probably was set by
the old calendar for the last 10 days
In December, Which really is the
darkest period.
In every village and town of Swe-
den-nowadays, in every factory and
ofhce-they choose a young blond
girl to typify the priestess of light.
And everywhere the children-but
always gif1-children-carrying can
dies, visit all the dwellings, houses
or cottages or apartments In the
earliest hours of the morning to
wish them light and luck. They
distribute small cakes in the shape
of cats-perhaps because cats see
best in the dark.
Crowns With Seven Candles.
I'm earlier days 1t was a simple
homely festival, but noW-eSpecially
this year-it has acquired greater
value as Eight in our darkness and
good will to men,
Thus, yesterdays Stockholm It'd
ningen publishes a small cartoon OF
a girls figure with a blazing head
dress-the Lucias all wear crowns
with seven Notwithstanding in the
snow amid a circle of barbed wire
and bristling cannon.
And so yesterday morning the
greatest bank in Stockholm as
sembled all its personnel, from di-
rectors to messenger boys, to greet
their Lucia with her six attendants
all dressed in white and bearing
candles-again that mystic number
seven. But this year there was q
small departure from the time-hal-
lowed custom. One of the girls, a
stenographer, presented a request
signed first by an Office boy-be-
cause the names were written in
alphabetical order-and almost last
by Managing Director Marc Wal
lenberg. 1t proposed that every one
give a days salary to the Finland
Aid Committee. though. generally
speaking, all funds collected on
Lucia day 60 for the benefit of the
aged and inflrm.
In recent years, one of Stock
holm's leading newspapers, Tidnin-
gen. has chosen what might be
called Miss Stockholm" as the
city's Lucia. She is selected by a
jury and not the votes of readers
and not at all as a beauty contest,
but to choose a young girl who best
typifles Sweden's blondeness to be
the "light-bearer" for the current
year.
Office Worker Chosen.
The choice fell this time on gir'
, who works somewhere in an Office
named Elsa Ekstrom. aged 10, ano
as it happens she is one of the
prettiest little things you ever saw
Last night she drove slowly around
Stockholm from south to north
wearing her lighted crown and at
tended by six maidens. Then they
went to banquet at restaurant
and later to a banquet at another
though first they went to high tea
at the Salvation Army headquarters
At the first restaurant Miss Elsa
was given a necklace or a bracelet
or something to keep for herself in
memory of her brief glory by the
Finnish Nobel Prize winner, Frans
E. Sillanpaa, who reached Stock.
. holm Tuesday.
About him they tell a story. He
arrived with his seven children al
the Swedish frontier and was giver
a good hot meal OF course, the
meal is served without cost to the
poorer refugees, but it is principle
that those who can pay will, to hell
the others. When they asked Sillan.
paa he said, Il am sorry, but hav'
no money here, although I hope soo1
to receive some hundred Thousand
Il.