Hope Covenant Church of Orland Park will hold its 15th Annual Swedish Christmas Breakfast and Lucia Pageant. The event will be held on Saturday, December 11th, at 10:00 a.m., at the church located at 14401 West Avenue in Orland Park. Tickets are $12.00 for adults; and $6.00 for children 8 and younger. For tickets and information, call Dawn Mueller at 708-642-6120. Some of the traditional Swedish foods that will be served are Swedish coffee bread, sweet rye, hard-tak, bond-ost cheese, pickled herring, rice pudding and lingonberry, and potato sausage. This year’s Lucia Queen is Miss Jenna Przybylowski. Jenna resides in LaGrange with her parents, Thad & Julie Przybylowski, and is a sophmore at Lyon’s Township High School. Jenna has been participating in the Lucia pageant for the past 10 years, since Kindergarten. According to legend, Lucia was born and lived in Sicily. On the eve of her marriage she gave her entire dowry to the poor people of the village and confessed that she had become a Christian. Accused of witchcraft, she died a martyr’s death at the stake on December 13, 304 A.D. She was later canonized as Santa Lucia and is a symbol of light, faith and Christian charity. It is believed that the tradition of honoring Lucia came originally from Germany and that the festival originated in Sweden by Vikings who brought back the stories of the Christian martyr, Lucia, from their travels. As far as tradition goes, “Sankta Lucia” has always been recognized in Sweden as the “Queen of Light, and on December 13th (Lucia Day) a celebration has been held to honor the return of light after the dark winter. Just before dawn young girls dressed in a white gown with a red sash and crowned with wreaths of lingonberry twigs set with candles arouse family members and serve them fresh-baked Lucia buns and coffee.
