The 13th of December was originally celebrated as a Catholic saint’s
day day, so why does the Protestant North celebrate this day under the
name of a Catholic Saint?
The Holy Saint Lucia is the patron saint of Syracuse in Italy whose
saint’s day falls on the 13th of December. Lucia is thought to have
lived during the rule of Diocletian, and it was at the hands of his
officials that she faced a martyr’s death.
The reason that Lucia was painted carrying her eyes outside of their
appointed place is that, according to myth, she desired to be a bride of
Christ so ardently that she ripped out her eyes so that a man could
never see their beauty and fall in love with him.
The story goes that her mother was sick, so the young girl travelled
with her mother to the grave of holy Agatha to pray, and during her
session of prayer, Lucia saw in a vision that she was to become the
patron saint of Syracuse. Her mother became instantly well.
Upon her betterment Lucia’s mother made plans to wed Lucia to a Roman
man who, to the Christian Lucia, was a heathen. She refused and refused
and the Roman man then vengefully accused her of being a Christian to
the officials. They gave her the choice of burning an offering to the
Roman Emperor but Lucia said that she had no more to offer, she had
offered it all up to God. It was instead decided to make Lucia the offer
and burn her alive, but the men come to fetch her from her mother’s
home, could not drag her from the doorstep to the pyre, not even when
they used oxen. Lucia said to them that the Holy Spirit was protecting
her and the Romans arranged for an executioner to come to her instead
and she was killed in her mother’s home. She was martyred and later
declared a saint by the church, patron saint of Syracuse and helper of
the blind as she was also believed to have plucked out her own eyes, so
that no man should see their beauty and fall thus in love.
n Denmark the first Lucia-procession was held during the Nazi
occupation of the mid-forties, as a show of peaceful resistance and a
reminder of hope. After the war, when candles became readily available
again, the tradition spread to the entire country and since then every
school and church has held Lucia processions. Amongst the girls a
Lucia-bride is chosen and she wears a crown of candles, as well as a
candle in her hands. After her come the bridesmaids, with candles in
their hands. In the back of the procession walk the usually reluctant
boys handing out peppernuts to the onlookers, and alongside the children
is a teacher, or other grown-up, carrying a bucket of water in case the
crown slips or a child is unobservant with his or her candle.
Everybody wears white gowns with a red ribbon tied around their
waist. I’ve walked in four of five processions, since my first school
was a Christian one. We had to do a procession in church, school and a
retirement home.
