# History of Santa Lucia: Luciadagen > HISTORY OF LUCIADAGEN: ST. LUCY'S DAY n Sweden, December 13 is "Luciadagen," Santa Lucia's Day, or St. Lucy's Day in English. It is the beginning of their holiday season. The Lutherans in Denmark and Norway also celebrate this day.  … > URL: https://billpetro.com/history-of-santa-lucia/ > Last modified: 2025-12-13T20:08:35+00:00 Reading Time: 2 minutes[](https://i0.wp.com/www.billpetro.com/wp-content/uploads/SantaLucia-753361.jpg?ssl=1)St. Lucy, by Domenico Beccafumi, 1521. Image: [Wikipedia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Saint_Lucy_by_Domenico_di_Pace_Beccafumi.jpg/444px-Saint_Lucy_by_Domenico_di_Pace_Beccafumi.jpg) ## HISTORY OF LUCIADAGEN: ST. LUCY’S DAY In Sweden, *December 13* is “Luciadagen,” **Santa Lucia’s Day**, or St. Lucy’s Day in English. It is the beginning of their holiday season. The Lutherans in Denmark and Norway also celebrate this day.   *How did St. Lucy’s Day become popular throughout European countries, especially in Scandinavian countries, Sicily, and the Caribbean?*   Table of Contents Toggle - [History](#History) - [St. Lucia in Swedish Tradition](#St_Lucia_in_Swedish_Tradition) - [Santa Lucia in Sicily](#Santa_Lucia_in_Sicily) - [St. Lucia in the Caribbean](#St_Lucia_in_the_Caribbean) - [Related](#Related) ### History St. Lucia was a young woman who lived in first-century Rome. She was a Christian who would not give up her faith to marry an unbeliever. She was tortured and killed by order of the Roman magistrate *Paschasius*, who ordered her to burn a sacrifice to [**Emperor Diocletian**](https://billpetro.com/history-of-erasing-unpopular-leaders-damnatio-memoriae/#:~:text=diocletian%20(last%2C%20largest%2C%20and%20bloodiest%20empire-wide%20persecution%20of%20christians).)‘s image. As the ultimate torture, her eyes were gouged out, but she was miraculously still able to see. Pictures depict her holding her eyes on a golden plate, as she remains the patron saint of the blind. **Dante** subsequently mentions Lucia in the Second Canto of his *Divine Comedy*. Missionaries brought stories of her courage to Sweden, where she became known as the *Lucia Bride*. Older people said the Lucia Bride would go out early in the morning to bring food and drink to the poor. She wore white robes and a crown of light. Lucy, like the Latin *lux*, means light. Under the old calendar, before calendar reforms, her day was the shortest of the year.   ### St. Lucia in Swedish Tradition Celebration of St Lucy’s Day in a Church of Sweden, 2006. Image: [Wikipedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucia-13.12.06.jpg)   The story of Luciadagen is acted out in Swedish homes, with the oldest daughter playing the Lucia Bride. Early in the morning on December 13, she brings her parents a tray of sweet saffron buns and some coffee. She wears a white gown and a crown of greens, often made of holly. Her sisters and brothers dress in white and follow her. The girls carry lit candles, and the boys wear tall, pointed caps and are called “star boys.”   ### Santa Lucia in Sicily St. Lucia is also honored in Sicily, where she was born, and is the patron saint of Syracuse, where she is known as **Santa Lucia**. Christians there gather to celebrate her day with bonfires and torchlight parades.   ### St. Lucia in the Caribbean There is an island in the Caribbean named **St. Lucia**, after the Sicilian saint. It is one of two sovereign states in the world named after a woman. The other country is **Ireland**, named after the local goddess, *Ériu*. I visited St. Lucia a couple of years ago.   Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian [billpetro.com](https://billpetro.com) *Podcast*: [*Subscribe*](http://g003.enterprise.ipost.com/billpetrofriend/prefs) to have future articles delivered to your email. 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