December 13, 2025
today is the feast day of st lucia, a virgin christian martyr from the early fourth century.
she’s one of my favourite saints.
she was so unmovable that a team of oxen could not move her. wood piled around her would not burn. in some tellings of her martyrdom she meets her end with a sword to her throat.
in some tellings her eyes are gouged out and in other tellings, she gouges them out herself. a male suitor was said to have admired her eyes and such was her devotion to christ that she ripped her eyes out.
in many classical images of her, she will be shown with a plate bearing her own eyes on it.
in sweden, this feast day accompanies the old midwinter solstice, a time of darkness and st lucia brings her light and warmth.
i dress as lucia today because i need warmth and light.
hospital vespers 