Children's Lesson for St. Lucy Day
This short children’s lesson works well for Sunday School, Children’s Chapel, or for a celebration of St. Lucy Day in the home on December 13. Our family does it during our special St. Lucy breakfast first thing in the morning. The story is very loosely based off Barbara Yoffie’s book, Lucy: A Light for Jesus cited below. I have not included the gruesome details of Lucy’s death (i.e. fire, sword, and her eyes being gouged out, which is why she is the patron saint of eyesight), because, well…this is a children’s lesson. But you may choose to add those details in as your children get older.
Trust my expert opinion on this one: this lesson is best done with yummy treats. Our family makes a wreath crown out of cinnamon rolls, but the traditional St. Lucy buns, or canned cinnamon rolls will work well too. Whatever you serve, put some candles in them to blow out after singing the St. Lucy song!
A Light Named Lucy
Light Candles (or Advent Wreath)
Light the candles and say: “May the light of Jesus shine in our hearts.”
St. Lucy Song
(tune of “Are You Sleeping”)
O Saint Lucy, O Saint Lucy
Dressed in white, dressed in white
Lighting up the darkness, lighting up the darkness
Shining bright, shining bright!
[Blow out candles]
Blessing
Dear God, we thank you for this food, and for your servant, Lucy, who brought food to the hungry. May we, too, always be willing to love and serve you. Amen.
Lesson
There once was a girl named Lucy, not much older than yourself. She lived long time ago—around the same time as St. Nicholas—in a place called Sicily, which is very close to Italy.
Lucy lived in a time when it was not easy to be a Christian. In fact, sometimes it was downright dangerous. It was against the law to believe in Jesus. Sometimes Christians were punished or even put to death by the Roman governor.
But Lucy loved Jesus very much, and she loved people just like Jesus did. She loved to spend her days helping people who were sick and poor and hungry. Some say that Lucy even brought food to the Christians hiding in dark tunnels underneath the ground. They hid there so no one would find them and punish them for believing in God. Lucy’s hands were so full carrying food to them that she would wear a crown of candles on her head so she could see her way through the dark tunnels.
Lucy loved helping people so much that she decided that rather than getting married and having a family, she would give her money away and devote her whole life to God, and then church would be her family.
This made Lucy’s mother very worried. She knew how dangerous it was to be a Christian. And she was scared that Lucy would not have enough money if she didn’t get married. So Lucy’s mother arranged for her to marry a man who was very wealthy, but did not love God.
Lucy refused to marry him, and this made the man very angry. So angry that he accused her of being a Christian, which he knew would put her in danger. When the Roman governor demanded that she give up her faith in God, Lucy was very brave. She loved Jesus, and would never turn her back on him. Lucy was put to death, and now she gets to be in Heaven with God always.
Saints who died because they loved God are called martyrs, and they wear a special red sash so we know who they are. Why might the martyrs sash be red? Red for the blood they shed.
We remember these saints for the sacrifice they made on special days throughout the year.
Saint Lucy is celebrated today, December 13. All around the world, people remember her with light because her name, Lucia, means light. In Scandinavia, there are big festivals where people light candles and sing songs about St. Lucy. In people’s homes, girls get up early in the morning, and they put on a white gown with a red sash. Then they put a wreath of candles on their head, and and bring sweet rolls to their family in bed. This reminds everyone that Saint Lucy fed the hungry.
We celebrate Saint Lucy’s special day in Advent. The candles on her head remind us of the Advent wreath, and they remind us that Jesus is the Light of the World. Let the light of Christ shine bright in us like Lucy.
Song
“This Little Light of Mine”
Closing Prayer
God our Father, we thank you for sending your Son to be the Light of the World, and for your servant, Lucy, who was a faithful witness to his light. Help us to follow in St. Lucy’s footsteps and be a light for you always. Amen.
Recommended Reading
Lucia: Saint of Light by Katherine Bolger Hyde
Lucia Morning in Sweden by Ewa Rydaker