About 90 people attended the annual scholarship fundraiser hosted by the American Scandinavian Foundation of Santa Barbara on Dec. 16 at the Veterans Memorial building in Santa Barbara.
The event included dinner and an auction, with items provided by local merchants.
The Invocations of Santa Barbara played music throughout the evening; and Santa Claus (a.k.a. Paul Wright) made a special appearance, handing out Christmas goodies.
Highlighting the program was a traditional St. Lucia procession, led by Evelyn Calkins, a student at Carpinteria High School.
It is said that St. Lucia took food to starving Scandinavians in hiding, wearing candles on her head to light her way so she could free both hands. The tradition is upheld in Sweden as the start of the Christmas season. Local and national Lucias are chosen to lead processions of children with candles and song.
To apply for scholarships from the American Scandinavian Foundation of Santa Barbara, students should contact their high school counselor. For more, visit asfsb.net.