Saint Lucy or Santa Lucia -Sweden and Sicily Celebrate Light and Vision

'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks
(John Donne)

by Diana Serbe

She is Saint Lucy or Santa Lucia, and her feast day is celebrated by the Swedes and by the Sicilians. To the Swedes, she represents light, to the Sicilians, she is the patron saint of vision, as well as the patron saint of the city of her birth, Syracuse. In Italian, the word 'lucia' means light.

Lucy was born in Siracusa, Sicily and is one of the virgin martyrs.  Legend has it that she was either beheaded or died when her neck was pierced by a sword during the reign of the Roman emperor, Diocletian.   Legend holds that a famine ended on her feast day when ships, loaded with grain, sailed into the harbor.

According to the Julian calendar, December 13th was the shortest day of the year. The change to the Gregorian calendar altered the date to December 21st, but did not change Lucy's feast day celebration, and she is forever associated with lengthening days and more sunlight.

In Sweden, December 13th opens the Christmas celebration. In ancient Sweden, the word "Lussi" was written on fences, doors, walls. This graffiti was used to tell the demons of winter that their reign was over and longer days were returning. Traditionally, a daughter in each Swedish family dresses in a white dress with red sash, and wears on her head an evergreen wreath with lighted candles. She would bring hot coffee and saffron buns called lussekatter (Lucia buns) to wake her family. The tradition continues, though with electric candles, not flame.

Sicilians celebrate Saint Lucy with cuccia, a special dish made of wheat berries, chocolate, sugar and milk. Though she is the patron saint of vision, she is equally revered for ending a famine. Each family makes their own version of cuccia and the children bring bowls of it to their neighbors as gifts. This tradition came with the Sicilian immigrants who populated America. You can read a contemporary account of this: helen viola

home   membership agreement   contact us  contributors   back to seasons main page  top of page