Before the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian calendar in Austria and the Catholic areas of Germany in 1583, the shortest day of the year fell on 13 December. The night before, like today's St. Thomas Night (the night from 20 to 21 December), was a so-called 'Losnacht', an oracle night, as well as a rough night. In the North (Scandinavia) and in the Protestant areas of Germany, the Gregorian calendar was not adopted until 1700.
Santa Lucia
December 13 is the day of St. Lucia of Syracuse. She lived in Syracuse (Sicily) in the 3rd/4th century and came from a respected rich family. Lucia was promised to a man, but she wanted to remain a virgin and refused to marry, so she was betrayed and executed by her fiancé. It is said that with the family's fortune she ran a Christian poor and infirmary, to which she brought food to her co-religionists in hiding places. So that she had both hands free to carry the food, she put a wreath of lights on her head to find her way in the darkness. This depiction of St. Lucia can still be found today in customs throughout Europe, but especially Sweden and Sicily.
Ignazio Marabitti: Relief, 18th century, in the chapel dedicated to Lucia in the cathedral of Siracusa
Lutzelfrau
Also, in Styria there are customs of St. Lucia. In the borderland between Burgenland and Styria, from the Wechselmassiv (mountain) to Hartberg and Fürstenfeld, but especially in the adjacent Burgenland, she should be on the road There, the "Luzeln" is common. She is also known as Lutzelfrau, Lutschi, Lutscherl and Luzi or Luz. Just as her name is different everywhere, her appearance also changes: sometimes young and light, but mostly dark and malicious – or both. On the eve of December 13, she often moves silently without speaking through the area, which seems a bit scary; elsewhere she is talkative, as in the past, for example, in Anger near Weiz, where she asked the parents whether the children were well-behaved. Therefore, the housekeepers gathered at the table after dinner, and it became very quiet in the parlour when one heard a rumbling outside. Was that the Luzl who kicked her feet off the snow outside the house?
It is particularly important to the Lutzelfrau that there is order in the house and that everything is clean. On her day, the spinning wheels must stand still. However, the most distinguishing feature of the dark luz is her greed for flesh, which is why in many places she targets the heel of her victims. From the Styrian Wechsel area it is reported that she used to show up in shaggy appearance and struck her claws so deeply into the flesh that their traces could be seen for a long time. If she entered the house and found someone at work, she threatened to split or cut off their head and throw it on the dung heap. Of course, the good and hardworking children received a reward.
Distribution map of Berchtengestalten in Burgenland and neighboring Styria, Leopold Schmidt, Vienna 1951.
"On 6 December, the children are often frightened by a masked Santa Claus, who rarely brings them anything, but on 13 December the Lutzelfrau 'poodles' them all sorts of sweets and fruit at the door", writes Leopold Schmidt, Berchtengestalten im Burgenland, 1951. But it doesn't often happen that she accompanies Santa Claus, she has her own holiday and prefers to do her own thing. Often the Luzlfrau is a raggedly dressed old hag, with a sharp sickle or a wooden knife and salt in her hands, threatening to cut off the heel of "bad" children and sprinkle salt in the open wound. However, she may also appear as a young girl dressed in white in sheets (also appearing in groups), the face veiled.
In northeast Styria, in Jogl- and Wechselland, where I come from, the Luzl is no longer known today, and I never heard the old people talk about her either. Her relative, the Budlmuada, however, with whom she shares many similarities, does. She will appear on Epiphany Eve and will be presented here in due course.
Bluadige Luz (Bloody Luz)
Elsewhere, in the Bavarian Forest, she is called the "bluadige Luz" or "Luzier". The men of a village disguise themselves. The "bluadige Luz" usually has a long, blood-smearde knife or also a sickle in one hand, which she grinds incessantly with a whetstone, with the aim of slitting her victim's stomach and filling it with stones. The Luzier is often dressed in a wide cloak and a large hat that covers her face.
The Luz creeps through the village in search of her victims, often saying in a gruesomely disguised voice:
"A Schüssel voll Darm, einen Topf voll Bluad, Bauch aufschneiden, Bauch aufschneiden, Steine ei stecka, Steine ei stecka, wieder zur nahn. In Regn ei werfa und dasaufa lossn, da fischtn koana raus, dann is für earm aus."
"A bowl full of intestines,
a pot full of blood,
cut open belly, cut open belly,
put stones in, put stones in,
sew up again.
Throw him in the rain and let him drown
no one fishes out
then it's over for him."
Lucky in the Czech Republic
The lines of connection of the Lucian custom also run across from the Eastern Alpine arc through Hungary, Slovakia to Bohemia, Moravia, and the Czech Republic. Also in the Czech Republic, which in turn borders on the Bavarian Forest, Lucky appears in white figure and beak mask (beak or bird masks are also known in the Alpine region, for example Rauris in Salzburg, but appear there rather in the last Rauhnacht, the Epiphany Night). Again, she carries a long knife and threatens to slash her victims' stomachs and fill them with straw.
Aus: Leopold Kretzenbacher: Santa Lucia und die Lutzelfrau (1959 )
Karl Julius Schröer (1855) reports from Bratislava: "I do not know much to say about her, although in our countryside there are many stories about Saint Lucia that are told in other areas about Lady Fricke [Frigg]. She has a milk funnel on her head, a sheet over it, as is the case elsewhere with Berchta, and comes into the houses with a distaff in her hand or with a feather duster with which she dusts the furniture." Something similar is also reported from Burgenland (Wolfau area). Although it is not a beaked perch in the classical sense, the protruding funnel points in that direction.
In general, the gruesome Luzl is considered in Hungary, in Slavic, and southern Germany also a reminder of fate, similar to Percht and Frau Holle. As a frightening figure, she punishes lazy and sloppy people and naughty children. In earlier times, numerous oracular customs were practiced on the Lucien night. The erection of Lucien branches and Lucienweizen is still common today.
Lussebrud (Luzienbride) & Lussi langnatt
Elsewhere, Santa Lucia is revered as a lovely creature, especially in Scandinavia. On this day, the lengthening of the day is celebrated, and young girls dress up as Santa Lucia, as a Lussebrud, who imitates the virgin St. Lucia. They dress in white clothes, tie on a red belt (symbol of blood), wear a green wreath of cranberry green (fertility) with candles (light) on their heads and sing Lucia songs. Although it is not a public holiday, the festivities start early in the morning: the "Lussebrud" wakes the family and serves breakfast in bed (just as St. Lucia provided food for those around her). It continues with celebrations in schools and kindergartens, performances in retirement homes etc. and often ends with a service in the church. In this way the light is carried into the community and into the church.
But even there and also in Norway she has two sides, and the second one is not of goodness and light. She also appears in the night of 12 to 13 December. This is the night the month of Jul began. And it was also the most dangerous night of the year - the Lussi langnatt - that was reigned by a female spirit named Lussi ("the bright one"). In this night people had to stay inside, eat and celebrate that night to calm and avert the anger of Lussi and her entourage, and leave the lights on. It was also very important to take care of the animals. That night, the animals in the stable told her whether the farmer had been good to them throughout the year. Lussi, pale and terrible, also came to see if everything was ready for Christmas – especially anything associated with circular motion, such as spinning, baking, and milling. If this work was not satisfactory, the household could have gotten some form of punishment, and Lussi could get so angry that she would come down the chimney and into the house, and sometimes she would break down the whole chimney. Or she could press her terrifying face to the window to see what it looked like inside, and when things weren't ready for Christmas, according to Norwegian sources she shouted piercingly and angrily: "Inkje bryggja, inkje baga, inkje store eld hava!" ("Not brewed, not baked, no big fire they have!") In Vesterålen this spooky entourage was called "gangferd" or “gongferd".
Göngferð (icelandic), isn't that a hike or a walk or just a ride?
Etymologically, the word can be derived from:
Göng: Germanic: *ganga- (1), *gangazgermM.st.(a)Gang (M.) (1)pace (N.), walk (N.), way (N.)got., an., ae., afries., anfrk., as., ahd.s. *ganga- (N.), *ganganidg. *g̑ʰengʰ-, V., Sb., schreiten, Schritt, Pokorny 438; vgl. idg. *g̑ʰē- (1), *g̑ʰēi-, *g̑ʰeh₁-, V., leer sein (V.), fehlen, verlassen (V.), gehen, Pokorny 418s. got. gagg* 2, gaggs*, st. N. (a), Gang (M.) (2), Weg, Straße; an. gangr, st. M. (a), Gang (M.) (1); ae. gang, gong, geong (2), iong, st. M. (a), st. N. (a), Gang (M.) (1), Reise, Spur, Fluss, Weg, Pfad, Lauf, Ereignis, Abtritt, Bühne; afries. gang 46, gong, gung, st. M. (a), Gang (M.) (1); nnordfries. gong; anfrk. gang* 3, st. M. (a), Gang (M.) (1), Schritt; as. gang 6, st. M. (a), Gang (M.) (1), Weg, Verlauf, Ergehen; mnd. gank, M., Gang, Weg; ahd. gang 76, st. M. (a?, i?), Gang (M.) (1), Lauf, Weg, Zug, Schritt, Gehen, Bewegung, Schreiten, Strecke, Eintritt; mhd. ganc, st. M., Art des Gehens, Gang (M.) (1), Weg; nhd. Gang, M., Gang (M.) (1)Falk/Torp 124, Seebold 214, Kluge s. u. Gang 1
Ferð: Germanic *fardi-, *fardiz, *farþi-, *farþizgermF.st.(i)Fahrtjourneyan., ae., afries., anfrk., as., ahd.s. *farans. idg. *per- (2B), *perə-, V., hinüberführen, hinüberbringen, übersetzen (V.) (1), durchdringen, fliegen, Pokorny 816an. ferð, st. F. (i), Fahrt, Reise; ae. fierd, fyrd, feord, st. F. (i), Aushebung, Heerfahrt, Feldzug, Lager; afries. ferd (1) 25, st. F. (i), Fahrt; nfries. feart; anfrk. farth* 4, fard*, st. F. (i), Fahrt, Lauf; as. fard 15, st. F. (i), Fahrt, Gang (M.) (1), Weg, Reise, Zug; mnd. vart, F., Fahrt; ahd. fart 173, st. F. (i), Fahrt, Gang (M.) (1), Reise, Zug, Lauf; mhd. vart, st. F., Fahrt, Zug, Reise, Gang (M.) (1), Lauf; nhd. Fahrt, F., Reise, Fahrt, DW 3, 1263Falk/Torp 229, Seebold 187, Kluge s. u. Fährte
So it sould mean "Gang-Fahrt" in German, "gait-ride" in English, "gang-fart" in Norwegian, "gång-färd" in Swedish.
The term "gong" in Old English and Old Frisian is the most similar to the Icelandic "göng".
Well, then that means Lussi and her entourage are going on a ride, a wild ride, comparable to the Wild Hunt and the "Wilde Jagd", which is also a phenomenon that is widespread across europe.
Also, this reminds me that December 8th, the Immaculate Conception, used to be considered the beginning of the Christmas baking season – by December 12th, all Christmas baking had to be ready, and in the evening Luzl appeared. At least that's what the old folks used to say...
Back to Iceland...
The Icelandic Witch Grýla
Another great Christmas ghost is the Icelandic troll woman Grýla – the Christmas witch. Grýla lives with her family in a hidden cave and ventures out during the Christmas season to grab bad children and put them in her stew.
A poem about Grýla from the 13th century reads:
"Grýla comes down from the outer fields / With forty tails / A bag on her back, a sword/knife in her hand, / Come to cut out the stomachs of the children / Who cry out for flesh during Lent."
This poem is cited here because it also has the motif of the knife in the hand and the belly cut. Traditionally, Advent used to be a time of Lent.
Culinary
While the Lussekatter are well known from Sweden, here in Styria it is hardly known that there was also a specific Luzi pastry in the Leibnitz area. The so-called Luzifleck or Luziastriezel (which was actually a flat bread) was about 12 cm in diameter, 1 cm thick and was baked from unleavened and unsalted cornmeal. Like the Lussekatter in Sweden, this Luzia bread was baked before sunrise and given to eat the entire household, including the cattle and poultry, in the sense of a family bread, an idea of which dates back to pagan times and was already mentioned in the Middle Ages. This also reappears when eating Kletzenbrot at Christmas and later, in the Epiphany Eve. The "Feck-Essen" (Fleck-eating) on Lucia day was supposed to help against dog bites and rabies, to connect and to keep the entire household together and safe from harm. Leftovers were kept in the table drawer against cattle diseases.
And what do Lussekater and Lucia bread have in common?
They both shine like the sun to indicate the lengthening and brightening of the days!
Please share your knowledge and experience about the custums in your area related to Santa Lucia with me!
(Cover photo of the article: John Albert Bauer (1882 – 1918) was a Swedish painter and illustrator. His work deals with landscape and mythology, but he also created portraits.)
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