How many of us know the saying "Saint Lucia, the shortest day there is"? Well, this famous saying, however, nowadays is not exactly correct because it dates back to the period up to 1582, when the winter solstice fell on December 13th. In that same year Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar, because it no longer corresponded to reality. A calendar was therefore adopted, where scientific calculations place the shortest day at the winter solstice, which falls between 21 and 22 December.
But who is Saint Lucia?
There are various legends that tell of this famous saint who was generous with all children.
The first tells of a small and beautiful girl named Lucia, daughter of a rich nobleman from Syracuse. From an early age Lucia understood that her vocation was linked to God, but her parents, totally against it, wanted to marry her to a young pagan. When she refused, her parents were so furious that they punished her by tearing out her eyes and having her killed. Once she died, Lucia ascended to heaven and won over all the saints with her affable ways, including the grumpy St. Peter. Lucia was very sad because she wanted to help her beloved Sicily and its poor inhabitants. Saint Peter was moved and decided to ask God if it was possible to grant this wish. With a golden key granted by the Lord, the two opened a small window onto the world, from where they could see Syracuse: at first the girl seemed very happy, but soon she began to grieve again at the sight of her people who were oppressed by injustice and poverty. When God noticed this, he made her a Saint and tasked her with taking care of the children, to give them some joy and serenity. So, helped by St. Peter's donkey, she loaded all the toys onto her back and began distributing them, making all the children and their families happy.
According to another legend widespread in Verona, around the 13th century there was a serious and incurable epidemic of "eye disease" in the city which particularly affected children. The alarmed population then decided to ask for grace from Saint Lucia, making a pilgrimage barefoot and without a cloak, to the church of S. Agnese, dedicated to the Syracusan martyr. However, due to the cold, the children initially refused to participate in the pilgrimage. To resolve the situation, the parents promised them that, if they obeyed and agreed to join the procession barefoot, the Saint would find numerous gifts upon their return. The children happily accepted, the epidemic ended immediately and from that moment on the tradition of taking the children to church to church to receive a blessing of the eyes remained on December 13th.
The feast of Saint Lucia is very widespread in Northern Italy, especially in Veneto, Lombardy, Trentino, Friuli and Emilia Romagna. The children write her a little letter, saying that they have been good and behaved well throughout the year, and asking for gifts as gifts. They prepare some food and carrots on the windowsills to attract the Saint and her donkey and then they go to bed.
But what links Saint Lucia of Syracuse to Venice?
Originally the remains of Saint Lucia were kept in Syracuse, the Saint's hometown, and remained here for several centuries after her death. Subsequently, during the Arab invasions of 878, the body was moved to a secret location to protect it from attacks. Then in 1040, the remains of the Saint were transferred to Constantinople, only to be definitively moved to Venice in 1204, after the conquest of Constantinople by the Serenissima; the place designated to house the relics was the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore but in 1861 it was demolished to make room for the current railway station which still retains its name today. The saint's remains were brought to the current reliquary in 1863 in the Church of San Geremia which is located in the Cannaregio district and overlooks the Grand Canal, near the railway station.
Not everyone knows - even if the Venetians remember it well - that the saint's remains were the reason for the theft in 1981, with a lightning-fast armed attack, and then a ransom was demanded. Providentially, the saint's remains were recovered by the police on the date of her celebration, December 13 of the same year.
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