Lucy, or Lucia, was martyred at Syracuse, in Sicily, during the Diocletian persecution of 303-304. Her tomb can still be found in the catacombs of Syracuse. She was venerated soon after her death and her cult spread quickly throughout the church. She is among the saints and martyrs named in the Roman canon of the mass.

Most of the details of Lucy’s life are obscure. In the tradition, she is remembered for her purity of life and her gentleness of spirit. Because her name means “light,” she is sometimes thought of as the patron saint of those who suffer from diseases of the eyes.

In popular piety, Lucy is perhaps most revered because her feast day was for many centuries the shortest day of the year. (The reform of the calendar by Pope Gregory VIII in 1582 would shift the shortest day to December 21/22, depending upon the year.) It was historically on Lucy’s day that the light began gradually to return and the days to lengthen. This was particularly powerful in northern Europe, where the days of winter were quite short. In Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden, Lucy’s day has long been a festival of light that is kept as both an ecclesiastical commemoration and a domestic observance.

In the domestic celebration of Lucia, a young girl in thefamily dresses in pure white (a symbol of Lucy’s faith, purity, and martyrdom), wears a crown of lighted candles upon her head (a sign that on Lucy’s day the light is returning, and serves her family special foods prepared especially for the day. In praise of her service, the young girl is called Lucy for the day.