Mrs J’s sister has an entire box of party hats. Really. It would not be entirely surprising if this box also contained the headgear on the programme for today. Because today is Lucia.

Mrs J wrote a bit about Lucia last year. And we’ve already covered the essential “Lussekatt” bake. So today we’re going to cover the hats.

Personally, Mrs J always thought the Stjärngossar (Starboys) were the top dogs in terms of hats.

When Mrs J was a girl in 19frozetodeath, girls didn’t wear Starboy outfits. These days they apparently let the kids choose freely.

Anywho, the next best headpiece of course belongs to Lucia: The Lucia crown.

In theory there’s only one Lucia in each parade and the rest of the girls wear some glitter or lingonberry greenery crowns without candles. But these days it’s not uncommon at all to see child parades with multiple Lucias.

An all out Lucia crown can be made of metal and often has a candle also on the middle top of the head. Personally, Mrs J is not a fan of this look. She prefers the lingonberry greenery base with candles only around the sides.

Of course, most Lucias don’t wear crowns with real candles. Mrs J, in the day, could certainly not be trusted to. We’re talking major fire hazard y’all. But this little plastic contraption looks an awful lot like something she would have been wearing.

So that’s it for hats. Next year: Songs. Though not sung by Mrs J.

You’re welcome.

In the meantime if you want to watch a contemporary Swedish Lucia performance, here’s a link. The rapper part made Mrs J’s hair stand on end but you’ll get the idea.

Have a fun Lucia!