Dead of Winter

Author’s Note

Vedarp and Vintersjön are both fictional places. Like Tornaby in Rites of Spring and Reftinge in End of Summer, they are based on the area where I grew up in north-western Skåne, principally the communities of Bjuv, Åstorp and Ängelholm.

The thirteenth of December in Sweden is known as Lucia Day, or Saint Lucia’s Day. A Christian feast day that can be traced back to the fourth century, it commemorates the martyr Lucia of Syracuse, who, according to legend, brought food to Christians hiding in Roman catacombs. She found her way by wearing a candlelit wreath on her head and today the custom includes ‘Luciatåg’ processions featuring a Lucia with a lit-up wreath, her handmaidens, and star boys who all wear white and decorative red ribbons. They sing the main Lucia song, ‘Sankta Lucia’, before Lucia and her helpers hand out treats, such as gingerbread biscuits and an S-shaped saffron bun called a ‘Lussekatt’.