Now midwinter’s twilight covers the earth
the sun is hiding in the shaded valleys
and little trolls tiptoe down dark crannies
but children dream of Christmas lights.

Then Lucia walks in the gloom of the winter night
with lights shimmering over her forehead
she sits at sleeping children’s bedsides
and children's dreams come true.

For centuries she has moved in Advent’s wake
to solace the tired human spirit
with her promise of Christmas to come
and light over dark lands.

From farm to farm she sends her word
that at Christmas with the doors ajar
in the night air strange sounds will be heard:
He comes, your king, as you wait.

This poem was first published in 1922 and is presumed to be in the public domain. Lucia was published in a 1953 anthology, 
Svensk dikt året om, edited by Olof Fahlén and Birger Lindell, published by Natur och Kultur: Stockholm. It has also been
published as a song by Abraham Lundquist AB, Stockholm.

English translation by Julie Hampton.