tiggerlover
Still waiting for "the talk"
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2000
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Today in Italy is Santa Lucia day. And I wanted to share a little of the history of the day with you all. It is a very important holiday in Verona, more so than any of the surrounding towns in our area. We will spend the afternoon visiting the special Santa Lucia market and viewing the special decorations. After we will go to a small party hosted by the NATO Command and our children (ages 1-10) will each receive a special Santa Lucia gift. We will end the evening out with a special meal at a local restaurant. Here is a brief history explaining how the day became to be.
The festival of Santa Lucia begins before dawn, on the thirteenth of December, which under the old Julian calendar (used in Sweden before 1753) was Christmas Day and the longest night of the year. Throughout Sweden, the eldest daughter in each household comes to her sleeping parents, dressed in a long white gown tied with a red sash, and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves in which are set seven lighted candles. In her hands she carries a tray of steaming hot coffee and "Lussekattor" (Lucia Runs). The procession includes her sisters and brothers also dressed in white, holding lighted candles, and singing of the light and joy of Christmas. However, the origins of this tradition are not in Scandinavia, but in Syracuse on the island of Sicily around 304 A.D. According to the Sicilian legend, Lucia's mother, a wealthy lady, had been miraculously cured of an illness at the sepulcher of Saint Agatha in Catania. Lucia, a Christian, persuaded her mother in thankfulness to distribute her wealth to the poor. So, by candlelight, the mother and daughter went about the city secretly ministering to the poor of Syracuse. Today they usually have a procession with the children carrying the candles and walking barefoot to the town square where they are showered with candy.
This is our first Santa Lucia day, so I am excited to take part in a new tradition.



The festival of Santa Lucia begins before dawn, on the thirteenth of December, which under the old Julian calendar (used in Sweden before 1753) was Christmas Day and the longest night of the year. Throughout Sweden, the eldest daughter in each household comes to her sleeping parents, dressed in a long white gown tied with a red sash, and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves in which are set seven lighted candles. In her hands she carries a tray of steaming hot coffee and "Lussekattor" (Lucia Runs). The procession includes her sisters and brothers also dressed in white, holding lighted candles, and singing of the light and joy of Christmas. However, the origins of this tradition are not in Scandinavia, but in Syracuse on the island of Sicily around 304 A.D. According to the Sicilian legend, Lucia's mother, a wealthy lady, had been miraculously cured of an illness at the sepulcher of Saint Agatha in Catania. Lucia, a Christian, persuaded her mother in thankfulness to distribute her wealth to the poor. So, by candlelight, the mother and daughter went about the city secretly ministering to the poor of Syracuse. Today they usually have a procession with the children carrying the candles and walking barefoot to the town square where they are showered with candy.
This is our first Santa Lucia day, so I am excited to take part in a new tradition.


