Today is St. Lucia (also called Lucy) Day — she was a fourth-century martyr. Her name is derived from the Latin lux, meaning “light.” Before the Gregorian calendar reform (in 1582, and adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752) her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year. There is an old saying, “Lucy light, Lucy light, the shortest day and longest night.” As you might guess, St Lucia is associated with festivals of light.
St Lucia’s Day is celebrated mostly in Scandinavian countries, but it’s also very popular in Italy.
In Scandinavia, each country each town elects its own St. Lucia. The festival begins with a procession led by the St. Lucia designee, who is followed by young girls dressed in white and wearing lighted wreaths on their heads and boys dressed in white pajama-like costumes singing traditional songs.
Centuries ago, the Scandinavian countries celebrated the winter solstice with large bonfires — to scare off evil spirits and alter the course of the Sun. Later, after converting to Christianity, they incorporated the legend of St. Lucia into their celebration that has resulted in the modern festival of light celebrations of today.
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