Lucia Nights, December 13 and 14

Friday, December 13, and Saturday, December 14

Downtown Bishop Hill, Illinois

A two-evening celebration of the Swedish tradition based on the legend of Saint Lucia, Queen of Light, the 2024 Lucia Nights Festival in Bishop Hill will, on December 13 and 14, deliver a seasonal treat featuring live music, a barn dance, a chili supper, a tree-lighting ceremony, carriage rides, and more.

It is believed that during a famine in Sweden on the longest and darkest night of the year, Saint Lucia appeared wearing a long white robe and encircling her head was a crown of candles. Legend has it that Lucia appeared on a ship laden with food. When the ship was unloaded, both it and Lucia vanished. Girls in Sweden today wake their families on December 13 carrying a tray of Lucia buns while dressed in a white robe and wearing a crown of candles. On both nights of Bishop Hill's Lucia Nights, local businesses and museums will have Lucia Girls to greet guests. Around the village, each building will have a single candle in each and every window, and sidewalks will also be illuminated by candles. Restaurants will be open both evenings, and special Christmas gifts will also be on sale at all the stores.

Lucia Nights officially begins in Bishop Hill with the Lighting of the Park Christmas Tree at 6 p.m. on Friday, December 13. The public is invited to bring edible ornaments to hang on the tree. After the tree lighting, the fun continues in Bishop Hill with a wide variety of free Christmas activities. At the Steeple Building, Hammer and Pick will be playing a variety of Christmas and folk music from 6 to 9 p.m. The Vasa National Archives will have a closing reception for their A Sampling of our Samling exhibit. Also at the Archives, storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis will share a medley of Swedish and Pioneer Christmas stories from 6 to 8 p.m. At the Prairie Arts Center, Deirdre and Fiona Light will be performing holiday music with their harp and accordion from 6 to 7 p.m. At the Creative Commons, the Bishop Hill High Society Band will perform from 6 to 7 p.m., with Coffee Creek performing from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Galva High School Choir will be going from building-to-building singing Christmas carols. Finally, the Peoria Cooperative Academy Madrigal Singers will be singing at the Bishop Hill Methodist Church from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

On Saturday, December 14, Hammer and Pick will be performing at the Steeple Building starting at 6 p.m. Brian “Fox” Ellis will continue his storytelling at the Vasa Archives at 6 p.m. The Light girls will be playing again at the Prairie Arts Center. At the Bishop Hill Creative Commons, Coffee Creek will be performing from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Peoria Cooperative Academy Madrigal Singers will once again be singing at the Bishop Hill Methodist Church from 6:30 to 7 p.m. The Cambridge High School Choir will be going from building to building singing Christmas carols. Finally, there will be an Old-Fashioned Barn Dance at the Colony School, starting at 7 p.m. The Sangamo Stemwinders will be performing. Dances will be taught and called by Gail Hintze. Beginners are welcome and no partner is necessary. All of these activities are free.

Both Friday and Saturday, the Bishop Hill Community United Methodist Church will host its annual Soup and Chili Supper, beginning at 4 p.m. A free-will donation is appreciated to cover the cost of the meal. And attendees are visited to return to Bishop Hill on Sunday, December 15 for a special free afternoon musical performance. At 2 p.m. in the Bishop Hill Creative Commons, the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Brass Ensemble will perform a one-hour concert. This music performance is part of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony’s Community Series.

Lucia Nights is organized by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association. Activities are partly funded by the Bishop Hill Arts Council, Bishop Hill Old Settler’s Association, Community State Bank, Illinois Arts Council, Bill and Susan Sherrard Foundation, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and SWEA- Chicago, with Regional Media the major media sponsor.

Featured events for the 2024 Lucia Nights will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. on December13 and 14, and more information is available by calling (309)927-3899 and visiting VisitBishopHill.com.