Cal Lutheran to hold Sankta Lucia service
Student elected by classmates wears crown of candles
Students selected Jenn Shipley and Jae Park to serve as Lucia and her escort in 2013.
Photo: Brian Stethem(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Nov. 13, 2014) California Lutheran University’s dramatic Sankta Lucia Festival will be held at 11:25 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in Samuelson Chapel.
The Swedish ceremony, which has been part of the university’s holiday celebrations since its early years, pays homage to the Christian martyr who died at the stake on Dec. 13, 304 A.D. Swedish immigrants brought the tradition to America. The festival honors the character traits of mercy, humility and purity of heart, as seen in the Beatitudes written in the Gospel of Matthew.
Cal Lutheran’s undergraduate students select five female and five male representatives whose depth of character and faith make them leaders in the Cal Lutheran community. Lucia, her attendants and their escorts will enter to an ancient hymn and read an adaptation of the legend. Attendants then light the candles in Lucia’s crown.
Cal Lutheran’s Office of Campus Ministry and Scandinavian Club and the American Scandinavian Foundation of Thousand Oaks are sponsoring the free event.
The chapel is located at 165 Chapel Lane on the Thousand Oaks campus. Additional parking is available in the lot at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, call the Office of Campus Ministry at 805-493-3228.