On the morning of December 13th, the eldest daughter in the household is dressed in a white dress with a red sash and a wreath with four lighted candles on her head.
She
must carry a breakfast of coffee, gingerbread cookies and sun-colored saffron
buns to her parents in their bedroom.
She
is followed by her sisters also dressed in white carrying lighted candles and
her brothers called “star boys” wearing tall pointed caps.
SEE AMID THE WINTER SNOW
Words by Edward Caswall and Music by
John Goss
See amid the winter's snow,
Born for us on earth below,
See the tender Lamb appears,
Promised from eternal years.
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Lo, within a manger lies
He who built the starry skies;
He, who throned in height sublime
Sits amid the cherubim.
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Say, ye holy shepherds, say
What your joyful news today;
Wherefore have ye left your sheep
On the lonely mountain steep?
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
“As we watched at dead of night,
Lo, we saw a wondrous light;1
Angels singing peace on earth
Told us of the Saviour's birth”.
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Sacred infant, all divine,
What a tender love was Thine,
Thus to come from highest bliss
Down to such a world as this.
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Teach, O teach us , Holy Child,
By Thy Face so meek and mild,
Teach us to resemble Thee,
In Thy Sweet humility!
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Haley Hanson (Lily Anne Harrison) is a workaholic
advertising executive who is keen to land a traditional toy company as a new
client, and get a big promotion into the bargain, but when her boss points out
that she specializes in social media and all things hip and would not
understand the needs of such an old-fashioned business, she reluctantly agrees
to attend a Christmas Boot Camp.
The Camp is run by recently widowed Ben (John
James) but it’s his son Jeff (Bobby Campo) who contributes most to helping her
to remember what makes the holidays so special and restore her Christmas cheer.
The ancient tradition of “star boys” who now often accompanied the Lucia dates back to the time when boys went from door to door playing tricks, singing and begging for money to celebrate the winter solstice.
“A Nocturnal upon St Lucy's Day” was written by John Donne who lived between 1572 and 1631.
Every year the Lucy bride in Stockholm's is crowned by the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Grace Long (Jodie Sweetin), is a woman who lives and breathes Christmas 365 days a year, as she runs the Christmas Store she inherited from her parents after their deaths, and also had to take charge of running her New England hometown's famous Christmas parade, also started by her parents.
But when the event's long-standing Santa, Tom
White (Jay Brazeau), breaks
his arm falling on the ice, not long before the big day, Grace finds herself in
a desperate race to find a replacement.
Being so close to Christmas all the best
Santa’s are already booked so it soon becomes clear that the only viable option
is Ben (Eric Winter), Tom's Christmas-hating
son, and Grace must inspire him to find his festive spirit for the good of the
community.
