Share Spotlight: Life Isn't Always Like a Christmas Movie

This week's Share Spotlight comes from the Busted Halo blog:
Life Isn't Always Like a Christmas Movie

The Holiday Season is wonderful, but it can also be bit difficult, particularly if you are far from home or the only single girl left in your family.

Luckily for me, neither of these things are true this year, but this list from Busted Halo is a great reminder that you are in charge of your attitude during the holidays. The holidays often mean an incredible amount of stress, but how we respond to that stress can make the difference for ourselves and those around us. You can make the line at the Post Office fun or miserable, sit at the side of the party or join in.

How do you make sure that you keep an upbeat attitude during the holidays or other sometimes difficult times?

Christmas Time in Scandinavia

So, Tuesday you got a Share Spotlight about Las Posadas. Today, you get post about Christmas in another part of the world!

Ever since reading about it in the American Girl book Kirsten's Surprise (yes, that was a long time ago and yes, I do want to read it again every Christmas) I've loved the celebrations of Saint Lucia that happens in Scandinavia.

Saint Lucia of Syracuse (St. Lucy to most of the rest of the world) was an early Christian martyr. Her name means light and, with her feast day the 13th of December, she came to be associated with midwinter celebrations of the return of longer days.

In many Scandinavian countries, a girl dresses in a white robe with a red sash and wears a wreath of candles on her head (though these days the candles are most likely to be electric, thank goodness). She often distributes "St. Lucia buns" or other baked goods. Usually, a traditional song is sung, with lyrics about how St. Lucia overcame the darkness.

St. Lucia celebration, from Wikipedia Commons.

In Sweden, it is common for the eldest girl in the family to play this role while other Scandinavian countries tend to have a single girl play St. Lucia for the town or region. To be picked to be St. Lucia is considered a great honor.

In Italy, she is celebrated as the patron saint of Syracuse in Sicily, and her day is National Day on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Italian and Scandinavian immigrants also brought the tradition to the United States and celebrations can be found particularly in the Midwest.

Wherever her day is celebrated, she stands for the triumph of light over darkness.


"But you know happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." --Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Share Spotlight: Celebrating Las Posadas

 This week's Share Spotlight comes from the Busted Halo blog:
Celebrating Las Posadas: "Enter Pilgrims; I Did Not Recognize You."

I've been wanting to do a post about Christmas traditions around the world, but with my busy schedule, I just haven't had time to do the research.

Luckily for me, Busted Halo is ready with some information on Las Posadas. Las Posadas is a custom in Mexico, and with some Mexican Americans, in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I'm most familiar with it from the movie, The Three Caballeros, (yeah, the one starring Donal Duck from the forties), but I've always loved the tradition.

People dress up as Mary and Joseph and travel from house to house, knocking on doors and singing, until finally, they arrive back at the first house and are let inside. It's a great show of community and of faith.

What traditions do you have for this time of year, Christian or otherwise? Are there any traditions you've heard of that you'd like me to look up and write about?