My friend Ed, who lives in Siracusa, sent me this photo (along with some video). On the Tuesday evening, the night of the solstice, he and his wife serendipitously came upon a marching band in the Piazza Duomo proudly performing as the fire department escorted the sacred relics of Santa Lucia back to their usual home in the Duomo.

Children weaved their bicycles around devotees as the bones from the saint’s arm, which had spent the week at the Church of Saint Lucia ‘al Sepolcrò in Siracusa proper in observance of her martyrdom, ascended the church’s baroque stairs. Shouts of “Viva Santa Lucia!” floated above cymbal crashes and pulsating bass drums.

Regretfully, it was not the normal crowded homecoming due to the pandemic, but still, it was a heartfelt display of gratitude for the light their Santuzza brings during the darkest days of the year.

“You’ve gotta love this place,” Ed wrote to me.

Yes, yes I do…