Introduction
.....Not only the longest night of the
year, December 13th is also the day when Swedes celebrate a special
tradition called Lucia Day. Called the daughter of the longest night,
Saint Lucia, whom this day is dedicated, was a martyr who died for her
Christian faith during Roman times (Rabe 20). Every year, this day reminds
the Swedish people that after December the long dark nights will get
shorter (Pasero par. 3). As thought by many historians, this tradition
may have spawned from a seventeenth and eighteenth century German tradition,
“where a girl dressed as the Christ Child in a white tunic with
a wreath of candles in her hair and gave out presents” (Dore 23).
The Story of Saint Lucia
.....During Roman times, a young woman
named Lucia, who was supposed to be preparing for her upcoming wedding,
had recently experienced a miracle and could not think about anything
else; this miracle occurred when her mother suddenly recovered from
a serious, life- threatening illness (24).
.....Prior to this miracle, Lucia’s
mother had prepared for death when all the best doctors in Syracuse,
Sicily had failed to cure her, and one day she explained to her daughter,
“before I die, I wish to visit the tomb of St. Agatha, who, like
me, was a Christian, and she will help me to feel at peace with the
world.” To help fulfill this final request, Lucia traveled with
her to Catamia, but the purpose of this visit had to remain a secret
because at the time Christianity was strictly forbidden, which was due
to the fact that Diocletian, who ruled the Roman Empire, tried to stamp
out the Christian faith by killing all those who believed in Christ.
After reaching the tomb, the two women prayed to the saint, and Lucia’s
mother returned home cured (24).
.....After her mother’s miraculous
recovery, Lucia wished to show her gratitude to God (24). As numerous
legends pronounce, Lucia carried food to Christians hiding in dark underground
tunnels, and to light the way she wore a wreath of candles on her head
(Santa Lucia Day par. 5). In addition, Lucia, who was a rich woman,
decided to part with her wealth and ultimately gave everything she owned
to people passing on the street, and when her fiancé heard about
what she had done, he was furious (Dore 24). More interested in serving
God, she rejected her fiancé, and he proceeded in denouncing
her as a Christian to the authorities (Encyclopedia.com par. 1). Consequently,
she was sentenced to work in a brothel, but this order was frustrated
when Lucia became immovable and could not be carried away. In order
to follow through with punishment, she was next condemned to death by
fire, but she proved resistant to the flames. Finally, her neck was
pierced by a sword and she died (Saint Lucia Day par. 5).
