December 13 is Saint Lucy’s feast day, and the saying “Saint Lucy, the shortest day there is” is well known, but is it really true?
Astronomically speaking, clearly not: the shortest day of the year actually coincides with the winter solstice, which falls on December 21 this year and marks the moment when the sun reaches the southernmost point of its annual (apparent) path around the earth. The word “solstice” derives from the Latin sol, meaning “sun,” and stit, meaning “to stand still,” so it literally means “the Sun stands still.” Around the solstices, in fact, the sun’s apparent path across the sky seems to “freeze.” Winter officially begins on the day of the winter solstice, and from that day onward, the hours of daylight slowly begin to increase.
The winter solstice and Saint Lucy’s day: an ancient connection
The saying “Saint Lucy, the shortest day there is” dates back to when, in 1582, the winter solstice effectively fell on December 13. Over the centuries, a discrepancy had built up between the length of the calendar year and that of the actual solar year, which at the time amounted to ten days: in other words, it was calculated that the calendar was about 10 days ahead of the apparent movement of the sun. That was the year Pope Gregory XIII decided to intervene to correct this discrepancy: Thursday, October 4, 1582 was the last day of the old calendar, and it was decided that the following day would already be October 15, 1582. From that year onward, therefore, the winter solstice shifted by about ten days, but Saint Lucy’s feast day remained fixed on December 13.
It should nevertheless be noted that even today, around December 13, one can actually observe a “shortening” of the days: this is the time of year when the Sun sets earliest, even earlier than it does at the solstice.
The reason sunset occurs earlier at the beginning of December rather than at the solstice is that, while the Earth rotates on its axis at a constant speed, it does not do the same in its orbit around the Sun, thereby causing a variable difference between solar time, so to speak “real” time, and the time shown by our clocks. The Sun’s lead over our clocks decreases very rapidly at the beginning of December, while around the solstice the rate at which the days grow shorter slows down: at the beginning of the month, the days shorten by almost 2 minutes, while at the solstice they remain constant.
Light: the symbol of Saint Lucia
The connection between the winter solstice and the commemoration of Lucia, however, is not merely historical and astronomical; it is a connection that, in some way, speaks the language of the sky: Lucia, whose name contains the meaning of light, is celebrated near the winter solstice for a reason: from that point onward, light begins to overcome darkness. The celebration of the Saint on December 13 therefore symbolizes precisely the victory of light over darkness.
But who was Lucia, and what is her story?
Growing up with love, Lucia was born toward the end of the 3rd century in Syracuse. Her mother was Eutychia, and she was still a young girl when she considered consecrating herself to God, but kept her desire to herself. Unaware of her daughter’s intentions, Eutychia promised her in marriage to a young non-Christian man. Lucia postponed the wedding with various excuses, trusting in the Lord’s help.
In 301, Lucy and her mother went on a pilgrimage to Catania, to the tomb of Saint Agatha. Eutychia was suffering from hemorrhages, and no treatment had helped her. Mother and daughter wanted to ask the young martyr from Catania for the grace of healing. After attending the Eucharistic celebration, Eutychia and Lucy approached Agatha's tomb. Lucy prayed for her mother and pleaded for herself to be able to dedicate her life to God, and it was at that moment that Agatha spoke to her in a dream: «Lucy, my sister and Virgin of the Lord, why do you ask me for what you yourself can grant? Your faith has been of great benefit to your mother; she is already healed. And just as the city of Catania is filled with graces through me, so through you the city of Syracuse will be preserved, because Our Lord Jesus Christ has been pleased that you have kept your virginity undefiled.» Upon awakening, Lucy revealed to her mother that she wanted to renounce marriage and asked to be allowed to sell her dowry to give charity to the poor.
Disappointed and embittered, the young man who had wanted to marry her denounced her to the prefect Paschasius. Arrested and brought before the prefect, Lucy refused to sacrifice to the gods and professed her faith. To discredit her, Paschasius then ordered her to be taken to a brothel, but the girl declared that whatever violence her body might suffer against her will, she would remain chaste, pure, and undefiled in spirit and mind. Miraculously, however, the soldiers could not move her; tied hand and foot, she could not be dragged even by oxen. Paschasius then ordered the young woman to be burned, but the fire did not harm her. Enraged, he finally decided that she should be beheaded. It was December 13, 304.
Lucy, patron saint of eyesight
The typical depiction of Lucy with eyes on a plate or in a cup may perhaps be linked to popular devotion, which has always invoked her for protection of eyesight, precisely because of her name. In the many accounts of her life and passion, the episode in which the martyr's eyes are gouged out or she tears them out herself is in fact absent.
Lucy, then, reminds us how light must overcome every darkness and helps us become pilgrims of hope, just as the Jubilee 2025 calls us to be! Let us bring our light to the world, our hope that does not disappoint!
