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'''Saint Lucy's Day''', also called the '''Feast of Saint Lucy''', is a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates [[Saint Lucy|Lucia of Syracuse]], an early-fourth-century [[virgin martyr]] under the [[Diocletianic Persecution]].<ref name="HynesMazar1993">{{cite book |last1= Hynes |first1=Mary Ellen |last2=Mazar |first2=Peter |title= Companion to the Calendar |url= https://archive.org/details/companiontocalen0000hyne |url-access= registration |access-date= 12 December 2015 |year=1993 |publisher= Liturgy Training Publications |isbn=978-156854011-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/companiontocalen0000hyne/page/186 186] |quote=Lucy's name means light. Coming midway through Advent, her feast day guides our
Saint Lucy's Day is celebrated most widely in [[Scandinavia]], [[Italy]] and the island nation of [[Saint Lucia]], each emphasising a different aspect of her story.<ref name=Barnhill/> In Scandinavia, where Lucy is called Santa/Sankta Lucia, she is represented as a woman in a white dress [[Christian symbolism|symbolizing]] a [[Baptismal clothing|baptismal robe]] and a red sash symbolizing the blood of her [[Christian martyrs|martyrdom]], with a crown or wreath of candles on her head.<ref name="Numico2015">{{cite web|title=Nordic Europe relies on Saint Lucy, symbol of light in winter, when darkness prevails|last=Numico|first=Sarah|date=12 December 2015|publisher=[[:it:Servizio Informazione Religiosa|SIR]]|language=en|quote=The white gown is a reminder that Lucy died as a virgin, and it recalls the white robes of the baptized; the red sash represents the blood of her martyrdom. The procession symbolizes bringing the light of Christianity throughout the world's darkness. This aspect is especially highlighted in the Finnish celebration: in Helsinki, for example, on Sunday Lucy will be crowned in the Lutheran cathedral to later come out of the church with her procession to bring light to the city centre. ... Concerts resound in all major churches, Protestant and Catholic alike. It is said that the best choirs perform in Stockholm and Linköping, and while in the past they were female choirs, today also male singers are admitted, and young men dressed in white also take part in the procession accompanying Lucy, that continues being represented by a young girl.}}</ref>
In [[Norway]], [[Denmark]], [[Sweden]] and Swedish-speaking regions of [[Finland]], as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and [[saffron bun]]s in [[Procession#Christian|procession]], which symbolizes bringing the [[Light of Christ]] into the world's darkness.<ref name="Numico2015"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/advent13/|title=December 13 St. Lucy's Day|last=Bommer|first=Paul|year=2010|publisher=St. Nicholas Center|access-date=12 December 2015|quote=This timing, and her name meaning light, is a factor in the particular devotion to St. Lucy in Scandinavian countries, where young girls dress as the saint in honor of the feast. Traditionally the oldest daughter of any household will dress up in a white robe with a red sash and a wreath of evergreens and 12 lighted candles upon her head. Assisted by any siblings she may have, she then serves coffee and a special St Lucia bun (a Lussekatt in Norwegian) to her parents and family. The Lussekatter or Lusseboller are spiced buns flavoured with saffron and other spices and traditionally presented in the form shown in the image, an inverted S with two raisins a-top (perhaps representing St Lucy's plucked out eyes!?).}}</ref> In both Catholic and Protestant churches, boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmastide, such as that of [[Saint Stephen's Day|Saint Stephen]] or generic [[gingerbread man|gingerbread men]], [[Santa Claus
A special devotion to Saint Lucy is practised in the [[Italy|Italian]] regions of [[Lombardy]], [[Emilia-Romagna]], [[Veneto]], [[Friuli
Saint Lucy's Day is one of the [[Ember days|Ember Days]].
== Origins ==
An inscription in [[Siracusa, Sicily|Syracuse]] dedicated to Euskia mentioning St Lucy's Day as a local feast dates back to the fourth century A.D., which states "Euskia, the irreproachable, lived a good and pure life for about 25 years, died on my Saint Lucy's feast day, she for whom I cannot find appropriate words of praise: she was a Christian, faithful, perfection itself, full of thankfulness and gratitude".<ref name="Lagazzi2012">{{cite book|last=Lagazzi|first=Ines Belski|title=Saint Lucy|year=2012|publisher=Mimep-Docete|isbn=9788884242228}}</ref> The Feast of Saint Lucy became a universal feast of the Church in the 6th century, commemorating the [[Christian martyr]]'s death on 13 December 304 A.D.<ref name="ButlerBurns1995">{{cite book|last1=Butler|first1=Alban|last2=Burns|first2=Paul|title=Butler's Lives of the Saints|year=1995|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=9780860122616|page=113|quote=A fourth-century inscription mentioning that a girl called Euskia died on Lucy's feast-day survives at Siracusa. Lucy was honoured at Rome in the sixth century as one of the most illustrious virgin martyrs whose lives the Church celebrates. Her name is included in the Canons of the Roman and Ambrosian rites and occurs in the oldest sacramentaries, in Greek liturgical books, and in the marble calendar of Naples. Churches were dedicated to her in Rome, Naples, and eventually Venice. In England two ancient churches were dedicated to her, and she has certainly been known since the end of the seventh century.}}</ref><ref name="MacFarlane1887">{{cite book|last=MacFarlane|first=Charles|title=The Camp of Refuge: A Tale of the Conquest of the Isle of Ely|url=https://archive.org/details/campofrefugetale00macf|year=1887|publisher=Simpkin, Marshall & Co.|page=[https://archive.org/details/campofrefugetale00macf/page/480 480]|quote=Her chief offence may have been that she bestowed the whole of her large wealth on the poor instead of sharing it with her suitor who accused her to the governor of professing Christianity and in consequence she suffered in the Diocletian persecution. She appears to have died in prison, of wounds, on 13th December 304, A.D. In the 6th century, she was honored at Rome among the most illustrious virgins whose triumphs the church celebrates, as appears from the Sacramentary of St. Gregory, Bede, and others.}}</ref><ref name="Moorcroft2004">{{cite book|last=Moorcroft|first=Christine|title=Religious Education|date=1 May 2004|publisher=Folens Limited|isbn=9781843036562|pages=30|quote=Christmas in Sweden begins on 13 December with the festival of St Lucia, a Sicilian girl martyred in 304 Ce. According to legend, she took food to Christians hiding in tunnels, and to light the way, wore a wreath of candles on her head. She became known as the patron saint of light. ... most churches have St Lucia processions where young people wear crowns of evergreens (to symbolise new life) and carry burning candles while singing the carol ''Santa Lucia''.}}</ref> St. Lucy's Day appears in the [[sacramentary]] of [[Saint Gregory the Great|Gregory]], as well as that of [[Bede]], and Christian [[church (building)|churches]] were dedicated to [[Saint Lucy]] in Italy as well as in England.<ref name="ButlerBurns1995"/><ref name="MacFarlane1887"/>
Later, [[Christian missionaries]] arrived in Scandinavia to [[evangelism|evangelize]] the local population, carrying the commemoration of Saint Lucy with them, and this "story of a young girl bringing light in the midst of darkness no doubt held great meaning for people who, in the midst of a North Sea December, were longing for the relief of warmth and light".<ref name=Barnhill/> [[Saint]] Lucy is one of very few saints still celebrated by the overwhelmingly [[Lutheran]] [[Nordic countries|Nordic people]] {{mdash}} [[Denmark|Danes]]; [[Swedish people|Swedes]]; [[Finns]] and [[Norwegians]] but also in the United States and Canada and Italy. Some of the practices associated with the Feast of Saint Lucy may predate the adoption of [[Christianity]] in that region, and like much of Scandinavian folklore and even religiosity, is
===13 December===
[[File:Lucia procession.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A Saint Lucy procession in Sweden, 2007]]
In Scandinavia (until as late as the mid 18th century) this date was the longest night of the year, coinciding with [[Winter Solstice]], due to the Julian Calendar being employed at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=
While this does not hold for the current [[Gregorian calendar]], a discrepancy of eight days would have been the case in the [[Julian calendar]] during the 14th century, resulting in Winter solstice falling on 13 December. With the original adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century the discrepancy was ten days and had increased to 11 days in the 18th century when Scandinavia adopted the new calendar, with the Winter solstice falling on 9 December.
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The Winter solstice is not visibly shorter than the several days leading up to and following it and although the actual Julian date of Winter solstice would have been on 15 or 14 December at the time when Christianity was introduced to Scandinavia, 13 December could well have lodged in people's mind as being the shortest day.
The choice of 13 December as Saint Lucy's Day, however, predates the eight-day error of the 14th-century Julian calendar. This date is attested in the pre-Tridentic Monastic calendar, probably going back to the earliest attestations of her life in the sixth and seventh centuries, and it is the date used throughout Europe. So, while the world changed from a Julian to a Gregorian calendar system—and hence acquired a new date for the Winter Solstice—St Lucy's Day was kept
In the Roman Empire, 25 December (in the Julian Calendar) date was celebrated as being the day when the Sun was born, the birthday of [[Sol Invictus]], as can be seen in the [[Chronography of 354]]. This date corresponds to the Winter solstice.<ref name="Christmas Encyclopædia Britannica">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115686/Christmas Christmas (Encyclopædia Britannica)]</ref> Early Christians considered this a likely date for their saviour's nativity, as it was commonly held that the world was created on [[Spring equinox (Northern Hemisphere)|Spring equinox]] (thought to fall on 25 March at the time), and that Christ had been conceived on that date, being born nine months later on Winter solstice.<ref name="Christmas Encyclopædia Britannica"/>
A Swedish source<ref>{{cite web|url=
=== Saint Lucy ===
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=== Lussi ===
''Lussinatta'', the Lussi Night, was marked in Sweden 13 December. Then Lussi, a female being with evil traits, like a female [[demon]] or [[witch]]
Between Lussi Night and [[Yule]], [[troll]]s and evil spirits, in some accounts also the spirits of the dead, were thought to be active outside. It was believed to be particularly dangerous to be out during Lussi Night. According to tradition, children who had done mischief had to take special care, since Lussi could come down through the chimney and take them away, and certain tasks of work in the preparation for Yule had to be finished, or else the Lussi would come to punish the household. The tradition of ''Lussevaka'' – to stay awake through the Lussinatt to guard oneself and the household against evil, has found a modern form through throwing parties until daybreak. Another company of spirits was said to come riding through the night around Yule itself, journeying through the air, over land and water.<ref>''Lussi, Tomas og Tollak: tre kalendariske julefigurar'', Brynjulf Alver, 1976</ref>
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Catholic celebrations take place on 13 December and in May. Saint Lucy or Lucia, whose name comes from the Latin word "lux" meaning light, links with this element and with the days growing longer after the Winter solstice.<ref name=alio>[http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art333.htm Alio, Jacqueline. "Saint Lucy – Sicily's Most Famous Woman", ''Best of Sicily Magazine'', 2009]</ref>
St. Lucy is the patron saint of the city of Siracusa ([[Sicily]]).
St. Lucy is also popular among children in some regions of North-Eastern Italy, namely [[Trentino]], East [[Lombardy]] ([[Bergamo]], [[Brescia]], [[Cremona]], [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]] and [[Mantua]]), parts of [[Veneto]] ([[Verona]]), parts of [[Emilia-Romagna]] ([[Piacenza]], [[Parma]], [[Reggio Emilia]] and [[Bologna]]), and all of [[Friuli]], where she is said to bring gifts to good children and coal to bad ones the night between 12 and 13 December. According to tradition, she arrives in the company of a donkey and her escort, Castaldo. Children are asked to leave some coffee for Lucia, a carrot for the donkey and a glass of wine for Castaldo. They must not watch Santa Lucia delivering these gifts, or she will throw ashes in their eyes, temporarily blinding them.<ref name=Pantano/>
=== Croatia and Hungary ===
In [[Croatia]], [[Hungary]] and some of their neighbouring countries, a popular tradition on Saint Lucy's Day involves planting [[wheat]] grains; nowadays this serves as [[Christian symbolism|symbol]] of [[Nativity of Jesus|the new life born in Bethlehem]], with a candle sometimes placed in the middle of the new plant as a symbol of the Light of Christ that Saint Lucia brings. Wheat grains are planted in a round dish or plate of soil, and then watered. If the planter is kept moist, the seeds germinate and the shoots are ideally several inches high by Christmas. The new green shoots, reminding us of the new life born in [[Bethlehem]], may be tied with a ribbon and put near or under the [[Christmas tree]].<ref name="Ribičić1">{{cite web|url= https://www.learncroatian.eu/blog/christmas-traditions-in-croatia|title=Santa Lucia Day Traditions|last=Ribičić|first= Antonia|date=12 December 2014|publisher=learncroatian|quote= It's believed that the taller the wheat grows, the more prosperous the coming year will be. This tradition dates back to times when agriculture was the main economic activity and is connected with fertility cults. By [[Christmas Eve]], the wheat, now hopefully tall, green and beautiful, is tied with a ribbon in red, white and blue – the colours of the Croatian flag. In [[Slavonia]], people observe the weather on each following day until Christmas, which falls on the 12th day from St. Lucia's Day. It is believed that the weather on each of these days shows what the weather will be like on each of the following months in the upcoming year.}}</ref> The real reason wheat was and is planted at this time, or on
In Hungary, the Luca széke (Lucy's chair) tradition teaches that one must start crafting a stool or chair on St. Lucy's Day, doing one piece per day and finishing by Christmas Eve. On that night, when one stands on the finished stool or chair
=== Malta ===
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=== In the Nordic countries ===
[[File:Lucia in Vienna 2.jpg|thumb|Lucias singing]]
The celebration of Lucia in its current format began in the 20th century and gained popularity in 1927 after a Stockholm newspaper sponsored a competition to select Lucia. The winner that year was a dark-haired girl, but over time, it became customary to choose a typical Swedish blonde.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Ingrid K. |date=2023-12-05 |title=Taking in the Light: Sweden's Lucia Celebrations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/travel/swedish-lucia-celebrations.html |access-date=2024-01-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
In [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Norway]], and [[Finland]], Lucy (called ''Lucia'') is venerated on 13 December in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray Lucia. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucy's life when she was sentenced to be burned. The women sing a Lucia song while entering the room, to the melody of the traditional [[Naples|Neapolitan]] song ''[[Santa Lucia (song)|Santa Lucia]]''; the Neapolitan lyrics describe the view from Santa Lucia in Naples, the various Scandinavian lyrics are fashioned for the occasion, describing the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness. Each Scandinavian country has lyrics in their native tongues. After finishing this song, the procession sings [[Christmas carol]]s or more songs about Lucia.▼
▲
==== Sweden ====
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The Swedish lyrics to the [[Naples|Neapolitan]] song ''[[Santa Lucia (song)|Santa Lucia]]'' have traditionally been either ''Natten går tunga fjät'' (''The Night steps heavily'')<ref name=Matthews>[http://ac-support.europe.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/Lucy.html Matthews, Jeff. "Everybody Loves Lucy", University of Maryland University College – Italian Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903152016/http://ac-support.europe.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/Lucy.html |date=3 September 2012 }}</ref> or ''Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring'' (''Saint Lucy, bright mirage''). There is also a modern version with simpler lyrics for children: ''Ute är mörkt och kallt (Outside, it's dark and cold)''.
▲The modern tradition of having public processions in the Swedish cities started in 1927 when a newspaper in [[Stockholm]] elected an official Lucy for Stockholm that year. The initiative was then followed around the country through the local press. Today most cities in Sweden appoint a Lucy every year. Schools elect a Lucy and her maids among the students and a national Lucy is elected on national television from regional winners. The regional Lucies will visit shopping malls, old people's homes and churches, singing and handing out [[gingernut]] cookies (''pepparkakor''). [[Guinness World Records]] has noted the Lucy procession in [[Ericsson Globe]] in Stockholm as the largest in the world, with 1200 participants from [[Adolf Fredrik's Music School]], [[Stockholms Musikgymnasium]] and Stockholmläns Blåsarsymfoniker.
Boys take part in the procession, playing different roles associated with Christmas. Some may be dressed in the same kind of white robe, but with a cone-shaped hat decorated with golden stars, called ''stjärngossar'' (star boys); some may be dressed up as "[[tomte]]nissar" (Santa's elves), carrying lanterns; and some may be dressed up as [[gingerbread man|gingerbread men]]. They participate in the singing and also have a song or two of their own, usually ''Staffan Stalledräng'', which tells the story about [[Saint Stephen]], the first Christian [[martyr]], caring for his five horses.
Some trace the "re-birth" of the Lucy celebrations in Sweden to the tradition in German Protestant families of having girls dressed as angelic Christ children, handing out Christmas presents. The Swedish variant of this white-dressed ''Kindchen Jesus'', or [[Christkind]], was called ''Kinken Jes'', and started to appear in upper-class families in the 18th century on Christmas Eve with a candle-wreath in her hair, handing out candy and cakes to the children. Another theory claims that the Lucy celebration evolved from old Swedish traditions of [[Star boys' singing procession|
[[File:Adèle Söderberg - Christmas card.jpg|thumb|Christmas season card with Lucia in the snow]]
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==== Sámi ====
It has become common for those populations of Indigenous [[Sámi people|Sámi]] that live in districts where the Lucia Day is celebrated to also have such celebrations. While the Sámi ''Lucia beaivi'' events follow the mainly secular spirit of the Nordic majority cultures' Lucia celebrations, the lyrics to the Sámi version of the Neapolitan song are more markedly religious, focusing on the life story of Lucia the martyr. Excerpt: "Guhkkin Sicilias / dolin lei nieida / Dan nieidda namma lei / Sáŋta Lucia." ("In faraway Sicily / long ago was a girl / The name of that girl was / Saint Lucy.").<ref>[https://ovttas.no/sites/default/files/S%C3%A1%C5%8Bta%20Lucia%20l%C3%A1vlla%20davvis%C3%A1megillii.pdf
=== Estonia ===
In Estonia Saint Lucia Day (''[[Luutsinapäev]]'' in Estonian) was traditionally celebrated by the local [[Estonian Swedes]]. It is also celebrated annually in the [[Gustav Adolf Grammar School]], which was founded by
===Saint Lucia (Caribbean)===
In [[Saint Lucia]], a small island nation in the Caribbean named after its patron saint, St. Lucy, 13 December is celebrated as National Day. The National Festival of Lights and Renewal is held the night before the holiday, in honour of St. Lucy of Syracuse the saint of light. In this celebration, decorative lights (mostly bearing a Christmas theme) are lit in the capital city of Castries; artisans present decorated lanterns for competition; and the official activities end with a fireworks display.<ref>[http://stlucianow.com/events/2013/12#mgcal National Day – Festival of Lights and Renewal]</ref> In the past, a ''jour ouvert'' celebration has continued into the sunrise of 13 December.{{fact|date=March 2024}}
===Spain===
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In the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA), which is the successor denomination to hundreds of Scandinavian and German Lutheran congregations, St. Lucy is treated as a commemoration on 13 December, in which red vestments are worn. Usually, the Sunday in Advent closest to 13 December is set aside for St. Lucy, in which the traditional Scandinavian procession is observed.
The public St. Lucy celebration in [[Lindsborg, Kansas]], is a way to display the town's Swedish heritage, and serves as a rallying point for the community. It also brings visitors to the town, which benefits the town financially.<ref name="Danielson" />
Since 1979, [[Hutto, Texas]], has held a St. Lucy celebration for their town at the Lutheran church. Every year a Lucy is picked from the congregation. The procession then walks around the church, sings the traditional St. Lucy song, and serves the traditional saffron buns and ginger cookies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Swedes in Texas|url=http://www.williamson-county-historical-commission.org/Swedes/Lutherans_and_Swedes_in_Williamson_County.htm|website=Williamson County Historical Commission|access-date=10 November 2017}}</ref>
[[Gustavus Adolphus College]], as a school founded by Swedish immigrants, has celebrated the Festival of Saint Lucy annually since 1941. Six sophomore women are chosen to be a part of the Court of St. Lucy. The women are chosen by their peers honoring the qualities of the legendary Lucy. In an effort to keep the tradition relevant to today, the selection process changed in 2011
===Venezuela===
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{{Wikisource}}
{{Commons|Saint Lucy's Day}}
* [
* [http://www.online-literature.com/donne/367/ "A Nocturnal upon Saint Lucy's Day," poem by John Donne (1572–1631)]
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