December 13th is Saint Lucia Day, celebrated in schools, offices and homes all around Sweden.
The annual candlelit Lucia procession is perhaps one of the more exotic-looking Swedish customs, with girls and boys clad in white full-length gowns singing songs together.

Among the youngest, anyone can be Lucia; as the children get older, the competition will harden.
It is three years already as the Embassy of Swedish in Tbilisi and the Swedish companies celebrate this day. Among other Swedish companies is Oriflame. This year, Oriflame presented its promotional stand with many gift sets on it, as well as its new, Christmas catalogues. Oriflame girls were giving Christmas gifts to the adults and children. This corner was one of the most popular in the event area.
Gustaf Winstrand, Deputy Head of Mission in the Embassy of Sweden in Georgia shared his Lucia-memories:
“I remember waking up really early in the dark as a child on Lucia mornings, lighting candles and singing the traditional songs. The sweet taste of the saffron buns and the gingerbread cookies, all the white gowns in the dark and that particular sound your shoes make in the snow, faces lit up by candlelight – it’s all quite a magical experience. In the evening, my family used to visit our grandparents to sing the songs especially for them.
This is my third and last year leading the Lucia procession in Tbilisi. I’m so impressed by the energy and time all the kids and adults put into learning the songs, coming to rehearsals. And not least the Georgian students perfecting the tricky Swedish pronunciation, that’s quite amazing. It’s such a joy to come together through music like this every year. I’ll really miss Lucia night in Tbilisi, when I move back to Sweden.”