Experience Sicily

Tag: patron saint of eyes

  • A Faithful Maiden

    Under the ancient Roman calendar, December 13 was the shortest day of the year: the winter solstice. Under our modern Gregorian calendar, the solstice in 2017 falls on December 21. In Sicily, December 13 is still recognized as a celebration of light, when they celebrate the Feast of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of the…

  • Cookie of the Beholder 

    Of course we know that for la Festa di Santa Lucia Sicilians eat Cuccìa (pictured top) and arancine (rice balls), purposefully avoiding wheat grain in recognition of the severe famine of 1624 that the patron saint of wheat, eyes, sight, and light helped resolve once she heard her devotees’ prayers. But what I learned from my friend…

  • Santa Lucia: They Called, She Responded 

    The priceless silver statue of Santa Lucia (in the photograph pictured) will be processed through the streets of Ortigia on December 13, her feast day. Devotees wearing green caps and singing “Viva Santa Lucia” in a call-and-response fashion, will carry her sacred relics. This age-old devotion is rooted in the ancient Greek Persephone/Kore and Demeter myth, which…

  • Viva Santa Lucia!

    Viva Santa Lucia! Today is the Feast of Santa Lucia. Devotees wearing green caps process her priceless silver statue and sacred relics through the streets of Oritgia, Sicily. Throughout the march, faithful sing a call-and-response in reverence to their patroness: Viva Santa Lucia! —Starting at 3 p.m. Today, Sunday!— Join us on Sunday, December 13…