Open-and-go lesson plan for the feast of St. Lucy

Do you want to teach about the saints in your homeschool or classroom, but don’t have time for extra prep?

We’ve got you covered. Here is a quick lesson you don’t have to prepare ahead of time. 

If your kids like coloring, you can print a coloring page while the kids watch the video. You can find one here, and lots more if you search “St. Lucy coloring page.” Grab the crayons and your lesson is ready to go.

St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, is a beloved saint in many cultures. Sweden in particular has a beautiful tradition of celebrating “Lucia Morning” with singing, crowns of light, and special foods. 

This 10-minute video tells the story of St. Lucy, the early Christian martyr, and it explains her connection to Sweden. It also demonstrates how this day is celebrated today among people of Swedish origin.

If you’d like to enjoy the traditional St. Lucia song, check out this sweet sing-along version in English from Catholic Icing:

Working with their hands helps a child retain a lesson. After watching the biography video, pass out the coloring page or set up a drawing tutorial.

Drawing tutorials are very popular with children and wonderful for use in the classroom or at home. This video takes kids through how to draw several Advent saints:

The tutorial for St. Lucy can be found between the timestamps 0:17 to 3:54. 

Talk about what you learned while the kids work on the coloring page, or after the drawing tutorial video.

Ask:

You can end with a prayer. Ask the children if one of them would like to read the prayer. Here is a traditional prayer:

May the glorious intercession
of the Virgin and Martyr Saint Lucy
give us new heart, we pray, O Lord,
so that we may celebrate her heavenly birthday
in this present age
and so behold things eternal.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Lucy, pray for us!

Do you have time to do more for this feast day? Here are some additional ideas if time allows for your family or class.

St. Lucy has always been special to my family as she is the patron saint of eyes, and my dad is an eye doctor. Because of this connection, I’ve wanted to do the traditional St. Lucy celebration for many years, since reading about it in the American Girl Kirsten books as a child. This year, I finally got my act together to make it happen! My daughter will wear a white gown and candle crown, and we plan to sing and bring rolls to the family at dawn. We are looking forward to it!

But you don’t have to do all that to celebrate some of the sweet traditions associated with this feast. Instead, you could make the traditional Lussekatter buns or pepperkakor cookies. I will admit that, in my home, canned cinnamon rolls take the place of Lussekatter. I’m all for liturgical living that’s achievable in a busy home. But I hope we will get a chance to make and try the traditional recipe too, perhaps later in the day. 

However you celebrate, we at Aleteia hope that St. Lucy brings light and joy to your home this Advent season!