History of Santa Lucia: Luciadagen — St. Lucy’s Day

Bill Petro
2 min readDec 13, 2021

In Sweden, December 13 is Luciadagen, St. Lucia’s Day, or St. Lucy’s Day in English. It is the beginning of their holiday season. The Lutheran Danes and Norwegians also celebrate this day.

History

St. Lucia was a young woman who lived in first-century Rome. She was a Christian who would not give up her faith to marry an unbeliever. She was tortured and killed by order of the Roman magistrate Paschasius, who ordered her to burn a sacrifice to Emperor Diocletian‘s image. As the ultimate torture, her eyes were gouged out, but she was miraculously still able to see. Pictures of her depict her holding her eyes on a golden plate, as she remains the patron saint for the blind. Dante consequently mentions Lucia in the Second Canto of his Divine Comedy.

Missionaries brought stories of her courage were brought to Sweden by missionaries, where she became known as the Lucia Bride. Old people said the Lucia Bride would go out early in the morning to bring food and drink to the poor. She wore white robes and a crown of light. Lucy, like the Latin lux, means light. Under the old calendar, her day was the shortest of the year.

Santa Lucia in Swedish Tradition

The story is acted out in Swedish homes with the oldest daughter playing the Lucia…

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Bill Petro
Bill Petro

Written by Bill Petro

Writer, historian, technologist. Former Silicon Valley tech exec. Author of fascinating articles on history, tech, pop culture, & travel. https://billpetro.com

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