Originally Posted by texasannie
No, what is the St Lucia story???
Saint Lucia or Saint Lucy is the patron Saint of the blind or eye sight. The meaning of the name Lucia/Lucy is light. Her feast day is Dec 13. She is shown in pictures with a plate in her hand and on the plate are eye balls. The stories told by the monks who brought christianity to Sweden was as follows............
St Lucy was martyred in 304 AD. St Lucia would secretly bring food to the persecuted christians in Rome who were in hiding under the city in catacombs. On her head she would wear candles so she could see where she was going and also then her hands were free to carry the food.
In Sweden during the 1700's St Lucia feast day became a BIG celebration, and marked the start of the Christmas season. It was the Winter Solstice and the festival of lights. It was changed to the Feast of St Lucia. On the morning of Dec 13 the oldest girl of the house would dress up like St Lucia. She would wear a white dress with a red sash and have a wreath on her head with red candles. The girl would carry a plate of St Lucia bread through the house with her sisters following, if she had any sisters and they would sing songs and give the bread to the rest of the family for breakfast. The rest of the day would be celebrated with a festival through the village. The Feast of St Lucia has spread through other parts of the world. However for traditional Catholics it has always been celebrated.
Loretta..........if you know of a differnt story or can add to mine I would love to hear it.