Daily Almanac for Sunday, December 13, 2020: 348th Day of the Year

December birthstone Rough and polished tanzanite 2010 photo By Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

ST. LUCIA’S DAY

St. Lucia (also called Lucy) was a fourth-century Italian martyr. Her name is derived from the Latin lux, meaning “light,” so she has become associated with festivals and celebrations of light. Before the Gregorian calendar reform in 1752, her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year (hence the saying “Lucy light, Lucy light, shortest day and longest night”). St. Lucia Day is especially important in Italy and in Sweden, where the oldest (or sometimes youngest) daughter dons a crown of burning candles and wakes the family with coffee and St. Lucia buns (sweet rolls seasoned with saffron).

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COURTESY www.almanac.com

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