On our big day, Hannah dressed in this costume passed out donuts to the family for dessert.
If you don't sew you can try a white dress, a white nightgown or even a white sheet in a toga. (St. Lucy lived in Roman times after all!). Get a thick red ribbon to stand for "the blood" as my kids like to say on Martyr Feast days. On her head, I made a simple wreath out of a paper plate, some green construction paper leaves and those nifty battery operated candles at Target.
If you have boys, they can either be the Swedish "star boys" or Roman soldiers. (I made the mistake of leaving Alex out of this feast day celebration. Next year I'll have to figure out a role for him.)
My homeschool group did a lovely St. Lucy's party, but unfortunately I didn't capture any pictures. We played a game where St. Lucy got to "wake up" the sleeping children. My friend Maria B. came up with a lovely candle craft based on an old English tradition. We used an orange as the base for a white candle. The orange symbolized "the earth" and the candle was Christ. We pinned a red ribbon around the middle to symbolize Christ dying for the whole world. Then we poked marshmallows and gummy treats on four toothpicks on the top to symbolize all the blessings on the earth.
These simple costumes and feast day treats are so worth a little extra hassle on my part. During Saturday's Mass, Hannah and I kept poking each other whenever St. Lucy's name was mentioned. It's so inspiring for me to see the the communion of saints come alive for my children.
These things work for big people too! The other day, I find myself praying to St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the spaghetti aisle at Safeway in order to fix more Food Pantry donations into my weekly grocery budget. I was so shocked. I barely knew St. Elizabeth existed before my daughter chose to dress up as her for Halloween. Now she is a dear family friend.
