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Saint Lucy’s Day Facts & Worksheets

Saint Lucia's Day is a Christian feast day which is celebrated on December 13 in Advent. It is to honor Saint Lucia (or Lucia of Syracuse) who is a third-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution.

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Saint Lucia’s Day is a Christian feast day which is celebrated on December 13 in Advent. It is to honor Saint Lucia (or Lucia of Syracuse) who is a third-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. Saint Lucia’s Day is also dubbed the Feast of Saint Lucia.

See the fact file below for more information on the Saint Lucy’s Day or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Saint Lucy’s Day worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

History

  • The Feast of Saint Lucy started as a common feast of the Church in the 6th century.
  • The feast pays tribute to Saint Lucia’s death on December 13, 304 A.D.
  • Saint Lucia was believed to have brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the underground cemeteries.
  • She used a candle lit wreath to light her path so that she could her carry as much food as possible for the underground Christians.
  • Saint Lucy’s Day is observed as the sacramentary of Gregory and of Bede.
  • Christian churches were devoted to Saint Lucia in Italy and in England.
  • Christian missionaries later went to Scandinavia and evangelized the local population. They shared about Saint Lucia to the Scandinavian people.
  • Saint Lucia is one of the few saints honored by the Lutheran Nordic people, namely the Danes, Swedes, Finns, and Norwegians.
  • Saint Lucy’s Day is also celebrated in the United States, Canada, and Italy.
  • The Nordic people’s observance of this day was first demonstrated in the Middle Ages and carried on after the Protestant Reformation in the 1520s and 1530s.
  • The modern feast of Saint Lucia is only about 200 years old.
  • The choice of December 13 as Saint Lucia’s day goes before the eight-day mistake of the 14th century Julian calendar.
  • Even if the world moved from a Julian to a Gregorian calendar system and got a new date for the Winter Solstice, St Lucy’s Day remained at December 13 and was not changed to the 21.

Saint Lucy

  • Lucia was born to an honorable family around the year 283.
  • Lucia’s father was a Roman. He died when she was five years old.
  • The name Lucia means light (Lux, lucis).
  • Saint Lucia is thought to have been a Sicilian saint who endured death in Syracuse, Sicily around 310 A.D.
  • Lucia was looking for help at the shrine of Saint Agnes for her mother’s long-term disease.
  • Lucia’s mother was cured there and Lucia convinced her mother to donate a major portion of her wealth to the poor.
  • Saint Lucy refused to compromise her virginity in marriage and was betrayed to the Roman authorities by the man she would have married.
  • According to the legend, Lucy was threatened to be taken to a prostitute house if she did not abandon her Christian beliefs.
  • They could not move her even with a thousand men and fifty oxen pulling her.
  • One of the soldiers stabbed a spear through her throat to stop her from speaking and from telling them that her death would decrease the fear of it for other Christians and bring anguish to non believers, but it did not affect her.
  • Saint Lucy only died when she was given the Christian sacrament.
  • All the aspects of her life are the traditional ones related with female martyrs of the early 4th century.

Traditional Celebrations

  • Catholic people celebrates St. Lucy’s Day on December 13 and in May.
  • In the United States, the celebration of Saint Lucia Day is famous among Scandinavian Americans.
  • It is celebrated in many different ways including parties at home, in churches, and through organizations across the country.
  • In Italy, it is a tradition to eat whole grains instead of bread on December 13.
  • Italians usually eat cuccia which is a dish of boiled wheat berries mixed with ricotta and honey, sometimes served as a savory soup with beans.
  • Children in Italy are asked to leave out food: coffee for Lucia, a carrot for the donkey, and a glass of wine for Castaldo, Lucia’s escort.
  • In Hungary and Croatia, their tradition on Saint Lucia’s Day is to plant wheat grains.
  • In Malta, they also celebrate Republic Day on Saint Lucia’s day.
  • In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, their tradition on December 13 is to elect a girl to portray Lucia who will wear a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head.
  • She will also walk before a procession of women singing a Lucia song and holding candles.
  • In Estonia, it is traditionally celebrated yearly in the Gustav Adolf Grammar School, which was founded by Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus in 1631.
  • In Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, it is traditionally celebrated as National Day.
  • Decorative lights are lit in the capital city of Castries while skilled workers create decorated lanterns for competition and the official activities close with a fireworks display.
  • In Venezuela, patron saint festivities are held during the month of December.

Other Facts

  • According to legend, Lucy warned governor Paschasius that he would be punished, but the governor ordered someone to remove her eyes.
  • When her body was being prepared for burial, they found out that her eyes had been restored.
  • In 1981, thieves took her whole body but left her head.
  • The police were able to arrest the thieves on her feast day.
  • Saint Lucia is the patron saint of the blind.
  • Saint Lucia can be seen with the symbol of eyes on a cup or plate.
  • In paintings, she is usually presented with a golden plate holding her eyes and usually holds a palm branch which means victory over evil.

Saint Lucy’s Day Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Saint Lucy’s Day across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Saint Lucy’s Day worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Saint Lucia’s Day which is a Christian feast day which is celebrated on December 13 in Advent. It is to honor Saint Lucia (or Lucia of Syracuse) who is a third-century martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. Saint Lucia’s Day is also dubbed the Feast of Saint Lucia.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Saint Lucy’s Day Facts
  • Life of Saint Lucia
  • Signify the Symbols
  • Describing Saint Lucy
  • All About Advent
  • Dedicated Places
  • Calendar of Saints
  • Fact Wreaths
  • Worldwide Traditions
  • My Saint Lucy’s Day
  • News Alert

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Link will appear as Saint Lucy’s Day Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 3, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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