Usually the strongest memory of every Nobel Prize winner from his visit in Stockholm besides the prize itself, is the early morning visit by Sweden's Lucia and her maidens.
Lucia Songs
The oldest folksy Lucia singers sang either Lusse or Lussebrud (Lucia Bride). But the song in a special class is the one we short and sweet call the Lucia Song. The melody is a Neapolitan tune, which was publicized - or perhaps even written - by Teodoro Cottraus in the middle of the 1800's. The Swedish text was written by journalist Sigrid Elmblad around the turn of the century. So from the Italian "Sul mare lucica, it became the Swedish "Night goes on heavy feet". The song became popular in Sweden as a direct result of the spreading of the Lucia custom in the 1920's.
A few of our recordings and films from Boston, New Jersey: www.youtube.com/nordstjernan
