On the day， girls in Sweden dress up as Santa Lucia wearing a white dress and a crown of candles. Boys carry a candle and wear a kind of white pyjama. They wear hats that are pointy with golden stars on them.
In Sweden people do not wear candles anymore because before girls caught their hair on fire very often. Today they use modern candles with batteries in them.
After lunch most schools close on Santa Lucia day around noon. It is a national holiday of Sweden. In big cities in Sweden there are beauty contests where some women dress up as Santa Lucia and the judges and the people vote for the Santa Lucia of the year. There are also special foods for Lucia’s Day like spicy gingerbread biscuits. In schools people sing Santa Lucia’s song.
As To Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia was a saint because of her kindness and her love. She was an Italian Christian who lived in Sicily in the 4th century. Some people believe she once visited Sweden.
The way she became a saint was that a man loved her but Lucia didn’t like him. Lucia’s mother asked her to marry the man but she refused， so the man said he would burn her. But Lucia prayed to God to have the power to survive the fire. Because of her kindness her wish was granted. The man then got a sword and stuck it into Lucia’s throat.
There is also another story for her being a saint which goes like this.
Saint Lucia was a very kind person and a man loved her very much but she didn’t like him. The thing the man loved most about Saint Lucia was her eyes. Then she gave him her eyes. But a miracle happened， she grew back her eyes and this time they were even more beautiful than ever. The man asked for those eyes but she refused， so the man killed her with a knife into her heart.
Vocabulary 词汇
crown [kraun] n. 王冠，花冠，顶点；
vt. 加冕，表彰
pyjama [p？"d？ɑ：m？， -"d？？-] adj. 睡衣裤的；
n. （宽大的）睡衣裤
contest ["k？ntest， k？n"test] vt. 争辩，提出质疑；
vi. 竞争，争辩；
n. 竞赛
gingerbread ["d？ind？？"bred] n. 姜饼，华而不实的东西；
adj. 华而不实的
grant [ɡrɑ：nt， ɡr？nt] vt. 授予，承认，允许；
vi. 同意；
n. 授予物，拨款
miracle ["mir？kl] n. 奇迹，奇迹般的人或物，惊人的事例
Practice
1．What did Santa Lucia look like？
2．What is the special food for Lucia’s Day？
3．Who killed Santa Lucia？
译文
圣·露西亚节是瑞典著名的传统节日，在每年12月13日——瑞典寒冷而漫长的冬天中白天最短、夜晚最长的一个日子里庆祝，用以纪念“光明女神”圣·露西亚。
这天，瑞典的女孩子会打扮成圣·露西亚的模样——身穿白色长裙，头戴插有蜡烛的花冠。男孩子手拿蜡烛，穿着白色长袍，戴着画有金色星星的帽子。
如今，人们已经不再在花冠上点蜡烛，因为女孩子们的头发经常会被火烧着。现在在瑞典，人们更多地开始使用装有电池的蜡烛。
圣·露西亚节是瑞典全国性的节日。这天中午午饭之后，大部分学校都不再上课。瑞典一些大城市还会举行选美比赛，女人们装扮成圣·露西亚的样子，由评委和公众投票选出当年的“圣·露西亚”。这个节日也有其特色食物，如姜汁饼干。人们还在学校高唱《圣·露西亚之歌》。
关于圣·露西亚：
圣·露西亚是一个以仁爱闻名的圣徒。公元4世纪时曾居住在西西里，是个意大利基督徒。有人说她曾去过瑞典。
圣·露西亚成为圣徒的过程有这样一个说法——
一个男人爱上了圣·露西亚，圣·露西亚却并不爱他。她母亲要把她嫁给这个男人，她拒绝了。这个男人就要把她烧死。圣·露西亚向上帝祈祷，祈求上帝赐予她力量度过这一劫难。由于她的仁爱，祈祷应验了。圣·露西亚没被烧死，于是那个男人又拿出一把剑，刺进圣·露西亚的喉咙，杀死了她。
关于这个故事还有另一个版本的类似传说——
圣·露西亚是一个很有爱心的姑娘，有个男人非常爱她，圣·露西亚却并不爱他。男人最爱的是圣·露西亚的眼睛，圣·露西亚就把她的眼睛给了他。然而奇迹发生了：圣·露西亚又长出了一双新的眼睛，比以前的眼睛更漂亮更迷人。男人还想要这双眼睛，圣·露西亚拒绝了。于是男人用一把刀子杀死了她。
练习
1．圣·露西亚是什么样子的？
2．圣·露西亚节的传统食物是什么？
3．圣·露西亚是被谁杀死的？
1．Wearing a white dress and a crown of candles
2．Spicy gingerbread biscuits
3．A man who love her
07 Auspicious Food in New Year 新年的吉祥食物
For many， January 1 offers an opportunity to forget the past and make a clean start. But instead of leaving everything up to fate， why not enjoy a meal to increase your good fortune？ There are a variety of foods that are believed to be lucky and to improve the odds that next year will be a great one. Traditions vary from culture to culture， but there are striking similarities in what’s consumed in different pockets of the world： The six major categories of auspicious foods are grapes， greens， fish， pork， legumes， and cakes. Whether you want to create a full menu of lucky foods or just supplement your meal， we have an assortment of recipes， guaranteed to make for a happy new year， or at the very least a happy belly.
Grapes
New Year’s revelers in Spain consume twelve grapes at midnight—one grape for each stroke of the clock. This dates back to 1909， when grape growers in the Alicante region of Spain initiated the practice to take care of a grape surplus. The idea stuck， spreading to Portugal as well as former Spanish and Portuguese colonies such as Venezuela， Cuba， Mexico， Ecuador， and Peru. Each grape represents a different month， so if for instance the third grape is a bit sour， March might be a rocky month. For most， the goal is to swallow all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight.
Cooked Greens
Cooked greens， including cabbage， collards， kale， and chard， are consumed at New Year’s in different countries for a simple reason—their green leaves look like folded money， and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon， the Germans consume sauerkraut （cabbage） while in the southern United States， collards are the green of choice. It’s widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one’s fortune next year.
Legumes
Legumes including beans， peas， and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small， seed like appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Italy， it’s customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils， just after midnight—a particularly propitious meal because pork has it’s own lucky associations. Germans also partner legumes and pork， usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil， the first meal of the New Year is usually lentil soup or lentils and rice， and in Japan， a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the New Year， includes sweet black beans called kuro-mame.
In the Southern United States， it’s traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin’ john. There are even those who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year. This all traces back to the legend that during the Civil War， the town of Vicksburg， Virginia， ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky.
Pork