Saint Lucy’s Day is on 13 December, in Advent. Her feast once coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feast day has become a festival of light. St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated most commonly in Scandinavia, with their long dark winters, where it is a major feast day, and in Italy, with each emphasizing a different aspect of the story.
In Scandinavia, where Lucy is called Lucia, she is represented by a person dressed in a white dress and red sash with a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In both Norway and Sweden, girls (or sometimes boys) dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. It is said that to vividly celebrate St. Lucy’s Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light.
