Why are they called St. Lucia buns?

The night of December 13th is called Lussinatt, and according to old legend, it was a scary night where light and darkness would fight each other. The Julian calendar considered Lussinatta the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. Lussinatta, with its long night, was the beginning of the Christmas period, when the supernatural being Lussi could spread chaos.

It was her job to check that everything was ready for the Christmas celebrations, and if it wasn’t she would get very angry. The creature Lussi was believed to always have a black cat at her heels. At the same time, we celebrate St Lucia’s Day on the 13th of December, in memory of Saint Lucia from the Catholic faith. These two traditions have been mixed together in modern times.

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Lussekatter i en kurv på et bord.
Lussekatter i en kurv på et bord.

Lussi’s cat

The name Lucia comes from the Latin word “lucius”, which means shining. The name Lussi has roots in an old Nordic folk story. People would eat a “lussebit” to protect themselves from the evil forces that were out at night. Old superstition says that you must eat evil in order to get rid of it.

When we eat Lussi’s cat, we might get rid of Lussi at the same time. Why aren’t the buns black then? The yellow color is a symbol of the light and the sun that chase away the darkness. St Lucia buns are made with the yellow spice saffron, and they are eaten on Lucia day.

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En svart katt ligger på en grå sofaen og ser inn i kamera.
En svart katt ligger på en grå sofaen og ser inn i kamera.

Ingredients

  • 7 oz. butter
  • 1.7 cups of milk
  • 1.7 oz yeast
  • ½ teaspoon saffron
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 6-7 cups of plain flour
  • 1 egg, beaten, for glaze
  • 2 tablespoons of raisins for decoration
Mel på en mørk benkeplate.
Mel på en mørk benkeplate.

Method

    1. Melt the butter and add the milk. Heat the mix until it is about 37 °C / 98.6 °F. Mix the yeast into the mixture.
    2. Mix in the saffron and stir well.
    3. Add salt, sugar and egg.
    4. Add the flour bit by bit and mix into a smooth dough.
    5. Cover the bowl with plastic film and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size (about 1 hour) in a warm place. Preheat the oven to 225°C / 437 °F.
    6. Work the dough and roll into 16 thin snakes. Curl the ends in opposite directions so that they form an “S” with spirals at each end.  This is the traditional shape of St. Lucia buns.
    7. Place raisins in the centers of the “S” spirals.
    8. Place the St. Lucia buns on a baking sheet. Let rise under a kitchen towel for 15-20 minutes.
    9. Brush with egg wash.
    10. Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.
Pensle lussekatter med egg
Pensle lussekatter med egg

Sources:

  • Magisk jul – Tradisjon og overtro (2018)
    Orage Forlag AS

Media Rights:

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