The Sankta Lucia Is Celebrated At York Minster

YORK, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 09: Matilda Jarl, 15, from the Jarfalla chamber choir near Stockholm, Sweden plays the role of Lucia as she leads the procession during the Swedish Sankta Lucia Festival of Light service at York Minster on December 9, 2016 in York, United Kingdom. The Sankta Lucia service is a traditional Swedish service merged from pagan and christian traditions. Celebrating Saint Lucy who was a young Sicilian girl martyred for her Christian faith in the early 4th century it celebrates the bringer of light during the long darkness of winter. This service incorporates a candlelit procession of choristers led by a young girl, Lucia, wearing a crown of candles on her head and a red sash around her waist. The crown of candles is thought to symbolise a halo and the red sash martyrdom. Lucia is followed by her attendants and the starboys. This is the fourth time the procession has been held at York Minster and is run in conjunction with the York Anglo-Scandinavian Society. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)