Saint Lucia – virgin and martyr Birth283 Death13 December 304 Worshiped byAll the churches that admit the worship of saints Anniversary13 December SymbolsEyes on a plate, a lily, a palm, the book of the Gospel Patron ofSiracusa, blind persons, oculists, electricians, against eye diseases and deaths

LIFE Lucia was born in the III century, in Sicily; she came from an aristocratic and wealthy family. Lucia was fatherless and she had been promised in marriage to a pagan. Lucia’s mother, Eutichia, was very ill and she spent some money to treat herself, but this had been useless. So Lucia and her mother took part in a pilgrimage to Saint Agatha’s shrine to pray the Saint for Eutichia’s recovery. In Siracusa, the mother really recovered and Lucia decided to consecrate herself to God. The suitor became suspicious seeing Lucia sell all of her property to give it out to poor people and denounced her to Emperor Diocletian. So Lucia was decapitated.

CELEBRATIONS Here, in the north of Italy, we celebrate Saint Lucia’s day on 13 December. The children write a letter to Saint Lucia, listing the presents they want and declaring that they have been good children so they can get the presents. Then, during the night between 12 th and 13 th, the parents, who have brought the presents, put them with some sweets in the children’s room. In the morning the children find the presents. To increase expectation, the older guys use to walk through the streets ringing a bell and calling the little ones to go immediately to bed, to prevent the Saint from seeing them and blinding them, by throwing ash in their eyes.