IN PHOTOS: Cheerful Swedes Celebrate Saint Lucy's Day on the Streets of Jerusalem

On Monday evening, adherents of the Church of Sweden marched in Jerusalem as part of their annual Saint Lucy's Day celebration, which marks the martyr Lucia of Syracuse’s efforts to provide assistance to Christians who had taken to Rome’s underground catacombs in an attempt to escape imperial oppression.

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Wearing white robes and carrying candles, the participants, who are affiliated with Jerusalem’s Swedish Theological Institute, paraded through the streets of the city alongside Swedish Consul General Julius Liljeström and members of Kuchinate, an African refugee women’s collective.

"During the dark Nordic winter, Sankta Lucia is the bringer of light,” the theological institute wrote on its Facebook page. "Tonight we share this light and joy festival with our neighbors and friends Jewish, Christian and Muslim."