In the days leading up to the Feast of Santa Lucia, December 13, many Sicilians refrain from eating pasta and only eat un-ground wheat grain, or “farro,” that is prepared as a dish called cuccìa. Devotees observe this ritual to remember the severe famine that struck Siracusa and Palermo in 1646. During that time of…
Tag: cuccia
She Answered Their Prayers
A severe famine struck Siracusa and its environs in 1646, the time of Spanish domination of Sicily. For relief, the citizens prayed to their patron saint, Santa Lucia, and in May that year during a mass, a quail flew into the Cathedral squawking at the faithful. At the same moment, a messenger entered the church…
Mother’s Grain
The Feast of Santa Lucia is celebrated on December 13, which until 1582 when the Gregorian calendar was instated, was the winter solstice. To celebrate the saint, who is the Christian translation of the Greek goddess Demeter, goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility, Sicilians eat cuccìa, a pudding made of farro (barley), milk (in this…