Saint Lucy was a Christian martyr honored in the middle ages. She is also known as Lucia of Syracuse or Saint Lucia.

Saint Lucy is most notable as a protector of blind people and people who suffer from eye diseases and sore throats. Many Christians make an annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of Saint Lucy in Syracuse, Italy, in hopes of the blessing of Saint Lucy.

In Croatia, St. Lucy’s traditional feast day, called blagdan Svete Lucije (Feast of St. Lucy) is celebrated on December 13.

In this post, we cover:

• Who was Saint Lucy
• Saint Lucy’s Day
• Croatian customs for St. Lucy

The facts are these…

Day of St. Lucy in Croatia – Sveta Lucija

Who was Saint Lucy?

Saint Lucy was a Christian martyr who lived in Syracuse, Italy, at the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries. Her tomb was found in 1894 in the catacombs of San Giovanni in Syracuse. The tomb inscription and a fresco in the crypt of S. Marziano testify that people worshiped her.

There are two legends about Saint Lucy. According to the first legend, Saint Lucy was a child from a respectable and wealthy family. When she was a child, she vowed to be a virgin. After her father died when she was 5, her mother wanted to arrange a marriage for her in Syracuse.

Lucy’s mother fell ill, so the two of them went on a pilgrimage to Catania, Sicily. When they arrived, they visited the tomb of Saint Agatha (Sveta Agata, Agatha of Sicily), a patron saint of Catania, to pray.

After this, Lucy’s mother recovered and also became a Christian like Lucy. Saint Agatha appeared in Lucy’s dream and warned her of the power of her faith and similar destiny (martyrdom) that Lucy would have to suffer.

When Lucy and her mother returned to Syracuse, Lucy canceled the arranged marriage. Her mother supported her in establishing an institution for the sick and poor where Lucy and her friends collected food. To have free hands to carry the food, she put a wreath of candles on her head to see the path as she passed.

After Lucy’s fiancé discovered she canceled their engagement, he reported her to the prefect Paschasius (Pashazije). Paschasius decided that Lucy’s virginity should be punished and ordered her to be taken to a brothel.

Suddenly, no one could move Lucy from that spot. They tried to move her with the help of a bullock cart, a thousand people, a wizard, by surrounding her with a bonfire and hot oil, but without any help.

When locals realized that there was no way to move Lucy, they pierced her throat with a sword. Regardless, she continued to pray loudly.

She announced the end of persecution, peace for Christians, the death of Emperor Maximilian, and the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian built his retirement palace in Split, which is an important Croatian site included on UNESCO’s world heritage list.

[Read: UNESCO monuments of culture and nature in Croatia]

According to another legend, Lucy took out her eyes and sent them to her fiancé in a bowl. After this, Saint Mary (Sveta Marija) gave her the most beautiful eyes one can imagine.

Lucy died in 305 after Bishop Eutychius gave her Holy Communion called sveta pričest in Croatian.

Sveta Lucija (Saint Lucy’s Day) in Croatia

In Croatia, Saint Lucy’s Day is called blagdan Svete Lucije which translates as Feast of Saint Lucy. It is marked on December 13, and it is a Christian holiday and a working day, not a national holiday.

[Read: Croatia National Holidays]

The name Lucy (Lucija) is strictly related to light and sight. The name is derived from the Latin word lux, which means light. People pray to Saint Lucy for good eyesight and protection against eye diseases.

Saint Lucy is often illustrated holding two eyes on a platter. She often holds a flashlight, torch, sword, or dagger or has a neck injury.

Saint Lucy is a protector of:

• Syracuse
• Venice
• Poor
• Blind
• Repentant harlots
• Sick children
• Peasants
• Glaziers
• Bootmakers
• Saddlers
• Weavers
• Tailors
• Seamstresses
• Electricians
• Blacksmiths
• Coachmen
• Janitors
• Maids
• Porters
• Writers
• Notaries
• Lawyers
• Against eye diseases
• Against blindness
• Against sore throat and neck
• Against infectious and childhood diseases.

Saint Lucy is the patron saint of the Turopolje region and the city of Velika Gorica.

On December 13, people called Lucija, Luce, Luca, Lucijan, and Lucijana celebrate their name day in Croatia, including our lovely team member – personal assistant Lucija Perić.

Customs on Saint Lucy’s Day in Croatia

Several Croatian customs are related to the celebration of Saint Lucy.

#1 Sowing Christmas wheat

In Croatia, it is a tradition to sow Christmas wheat called božićna pšenica on December 13. This is an old Christmas custom that has symbolic meanings. Saint Lucy announces Christmas as the birthday of light, so the 12 days between Saint Lucy and Christmas are called Lucijini dani (Lucy’s days).

The wheat grain symbolizes new life, and its thin green leaves symbolize vitality and strength. It is a belief that it is possible to predict what the harvest will be like by how the seeds germinate. If the Christmas wheat germinates poorly, the harvest will be poor. If the wheat grows green, thick, and tall, the next year will be fruitful.

In addition, Christmas wheat is also a nice decoration for the Christmas table.

[Read: How to grow Christmas wheat (Božićna pšenica)]

#2 Unmarried girls custom

There is an old Croatian custom related to unmarried girls. On December 13, girls write down the names of 13 men on 13 separate papers. In the following days, they would burn one piece of paper each day, not knowing the name that was written on the paper.

They would open the last paper on Christmas. According to the belief, a girl would marry the man whose name was written on this final paper.

#3 Pumpkin lit with candle

In Slavonija and Podravina, there is a unique custom related to lit pumpkins. The youth cut out parts of the pumpkin to give it eyes, nose, and mouth. Then they would put a candle into the pumpkin to look scary in the dark.

They used to frighten children with these pumpkins as they yelled Ide Luce or Peš po Lucijaj in Podravina, which both mean Here comes Lucy.

#4 Glavno spravišće (main assembly) in Turopolje

In the Turopolje region, an annual event has been held on December 13 since the 13th century. It is a general election or main assembly (parliament) called glavno spravišće.

This custom dates back to the 13th century. Back then, all nobles and representatives of villages from Turopolje would gather to pick a new prefect of Turopolje called komeša.

The event was held in Turopolje Burg. After it, a holy mass would be held in a burg in Lukavac.

#5 Other customs

In Croatia, it is also believed that Lucija brings small gifts into the house, like Saint Nicholas.

[Read: Nikolinje – Saint Nicholas’ Day]

In Otok near Vinkovac, there is an old custom of people carrying a pan full of heat through the city. In Tabor, Hrvatsko zagorje, on Sveta Lucija, women do not spin.

In Slavonija, a woman would come to the house with an ember and scare the girls to do handcrafts diligently. Sometimes, women would put candles in their hair.

In Međimurje, people would bake round corn bagels without salt and fat. They would give it to cattle and people as protection against rabies.

In the Kajkavian regions, people would make chairs and sticks out of wood after December 13. Then they would go to the Polnoćka (Christmas mass). If they would stand on the chairs or sticks and turn to the people, they could see witches.

[Read: The 3 Croatian dialects: Što, Kaj, and Ča]

View our other holiday posts

• All Saint’s Day (Dan svih svetih) in Croatia
• Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Dan antifašističke borbe)
• Corpus Christi (Tijelovo)
• Day of Remembering the Victims of Croatia War of Independence and Day of Remembering Victims of Vukovar and Škabrnja
• Epiphany (Bogojavljenje, Sveta tri kralja)
• How Croatia celebrates Easter‌
• Međunarodni praznik rada (Labor Day)
• Nikolinje – Saint Nicholas’ Day
• Silvestrovo and New Year’s Eve in Croatia
• St. Martin’s Day (Martinje)
• Statehood Day (Dan državnosti)
• Sveti Stjepan, Štefanje (St. Stephen’s Day)
• Velika Gospa (Assumption of Mary)
• Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day (Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti)

A full list of Croatian holidays is available here.

Sources:
Uz blagdan Svete Lucije vežu se zanimljivi običaji by Antonija Kulić
Danas je blagdan svete Lucije by Stela Tuđan
Danas je blagdan svete Lucije by Agencija Vlm
Sveta Lucija – zaštitnica dobroga vida by Vjekoslav Dorn
Blagdan Svete Lucije i prigodni običaji by narodni.net