Lussekatt buns are saffron buns decorated with raisins and handed out on St. Lucia Day during children parades at schools, hospitals, and senior homes. The name "lussekatt" is literally translated as "Lucia's cat" and the traditional shape of the bun is similar to a cat's tail. The tradition of baking sweet buns stems from a German legend, according to which a young boy who resembled Christ passed out yellow buns to good people. Yellow safran was added to the dough in order to shield the kids from devil who did not like the color.
This delicious treat is very popular in Sweden, Norway and in some areas of Finland. In Sweden, there is a tradition that buns should be made and served by the eldest daughter in the family. Today the buns have many designs, but all of them include the curled shape. Due to the high cost of saffron, it's now often substituted with dye.
