A Swedish custom that starts the Christmas holiday will take place Sunday in Crest Hill.

Lucia Fest will take place after the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, 2437 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill.

The community is invited to attend.

Evelyn Grace Kamer, a sophomore at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox and member of student council, will portray St. Lucia – also known as the Queen of Light – at the festival, according to a news release from the church.

As Lucia, Evelyn will invite attendees to remain after the services for Fika, where the church’s Women Ministries will serve coffee and Swedish pastries.

Children from Church of the Good Shepherd Sunday School will accompany Evelyn.

Erin Linder will sing the traditional Lucia song, and Sophia Esther Cain, last year’s Queen of Light, will read the traditional story of Lucia.

St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, was an early Christian saint martyred in the fourth century for giving her dowry to the poor. Her feast day is celebrated Dec. 13, according to tradition.

According to the Julian calendar (the current Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian in 1582), Dec. 13 was the shortest day of the year.

According to tradition, St. Lucy wore a wreath of candles to light her way when bringing food to Christians in hiding. She was killed for giving her dowry to the poor. She’s since become a symbol of “light, faith and Christian charity,” according to the release.

Up until the 1940s, the Church of Good Shepherd was a Swedish-speaking church – and then the church was bilingual for another 10 to 20 years before completely switching to English, lead pastor Jake Bradley previously said.

Bradley, who came to the Church of Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant about 20 years ago, previously said continuing a major faith expression tied to a country of origin might also help people from many heritages feel welcome in this church.

At Church of the Good Shepherd, Evelyn is a member of the youth group and has served as a Vacation Bible School leader. She plans to attend college to study psychology and criminology.

For more information, call 815-436-5945 or visit goodshepherdcov.org.