Festive kayaks in Santa Lucia procession on Copenhagen canals

13 December marks the celebration of Santa Lucia Day in Denmark – a Christian tradition that commemorates a 3rd century martyr and a popular festival of light that helps people get through the long winter days. Traditionally, a young girl is chosen to portray the saint. She wears a crown of candles at the front of a procession in which everyone wears white and carries a candle.

But The Kayak Hotel in Copenhagen have their own version of the procession. They dress up with lights and sail in Kayaks and paddle boards lit up in festive lights through Copenhagen canals. In Denmark, the tradition of public Santa Lucia processions was adopted from Sweden in 1944, and it has been celebrated annually ever since.