Saint Lucia

• 1. In the province of Bergamo, northern Italy, presents are brought to kids by Santa Lucia {Saint Lucy} rather than Santa Claus.
  Children write a letter to Saint Lucia, saying what they would like to receive as a gift and promising they’ll behave, and Saint Lucia arrives on the night between 12 and 13 December to bring them the presents (Saint Lucia is a Christian martyr celebrated on 13 December). The children must behave all year long, otherwise Saint Lucia will bring them some coal instead of the presents (actually, sometimes she brings sugar coal candies).
  Saint Lucia arrives at night with her donkey, carrying the presents on its back or on a little cart.
  On the evening of 12 December, kids leave some food for Saint Lucia and her donkey: milk, cookies, oranges, water, hay, carrots, etc., which will have been eaten by the next morning. In its place, sweets will be found, like chocolate coins, nougat and almond brittle (though in the past the poor people’s children might receive just some fruits like oranges and clementines, which were a sort of ‟luxury” in northern Italy). According to some people, Saint Lucia comes down the chimney, so the food is left under the mantelpiece. Others leave the food on the windowsill, together with a candle to signal it, and it’s on the windowsill that sweets and gifts will be found in the morning.
  Moreover, kids must go to sleep early and must not try and stay awake to see Saint Lucia, or she will throw ash into their eyes.
• 2. Among the various nursery rhymes about Saint Lucia there is this one (in Venetan; the cult of Saint Lucia spread through the Republic of Venice):
  Santa Lussia la vien de note,
  con le scarpe tute rote,
  col capel a la romana,
  Santa Lussia l’é to’ mama.
  {Saint Lucia comes at night,
  with completely broken shoes,
  with a Roman-style hat,
  Saint Lucia is your mum.}
  This nursery rhyme is probably based on a similar one used for Befana, another present giver (who comes on 6 January, Epiphany Day, after which she’s named; also, she’s old and ugly and rides a broomstick):
  La Befana vien di notte,
  con le scarpe tutte rotte,
  con le toppe alla sottana,
  viva viva la Befana.
  {Befana comes at night,
  with completely broken shoes,
  with patches on her petticoat,
  long live Befana.}
• 3. Lucia is a Christian saint from the III century A.D. who lived in Siracusa, Sicily.
  Lucia was orphan of father, and her mother had serious health problems. Lucia made a vow of giving all her wealth to the poor and not to get married in case her mother would heal. She healed, so a young, non-Christian man who wanted to marry her (and who was possibly betrothed to her), having lost all hopes to marry her, reported her to the authorities as a revenge (at the time, Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire under the emperor Diocletian).
  Lucia underwent a trial, but she didn’t abjure her faith and was beheaded. It seems that they pulled out her eyes, and this is why the saint is depicted with her eyes on a plate and she is the patron saint of eyes and eyesight; although her cult may have originated from the name Lucia, as a bearer of light (lux) hence patron saint of eyesight.
  Instead, the legend narrates that a boy fell in love with Lucia and asked her her beautiful eyes as a gift. She pulled them out to give them to him, but they grew back miraculously. The boy asked her for the new ones too, but she refused and he killed her.
  In the past - and still nowadays in other European countries - tall, blond girls used to dress up like Saint Lucia (white tunic with a red band around the waist) and bring sweets to their parents and younger siblings.
• 4. It is said that Saint Lucia’s night is the longest of the year (‟La notte di S. Lucia è la più lunga che ci sia” {S. Lucia’s night is the longest there is}, or ‟Il giorno di S. Lucia è il più corto che ci sia” {S. Lucia’s day is shortest there is}). Lucia was martyred on 13 December 304, which was the winter solstice; today - after the introduction of the Gregorian calendar that replaced the Julian one - the winter solstice actually falls on 21-22 December.
• 5. Even if it seems strange, this ‟compromising” nursery rhyme is often told to children.
  Among the versions in the Bergamasque dialect, there are:
  ~~~
  Santa Lösséa, mama méa,
  co la bórsa del papà,
  Santa Lösséa la rierà.
  {Saint Lucia, my mum,
  with dad’s wallet,
  Saint Lucia will come.}
  ~~~
  Santa Lösséa, mama méa,
  co la bursa del tatà,
  Santa Lösséa la egnerà,
  la egnerà söl mé balcù,
  la me porterà tance bumbù.
  {Saint Lucia, my mum,
  with dad’s wallet,
  Saint Lucia will come,
  will come to my windowsill,
  she’ll bring me many sweets.}
  ~~~
  Santa Lösséa, mama méa,
  mèt ü regàl in da scarpa méa;
  se la mama no l’la mèt,
  al rèsta öd ol mé scarpèt.
  {Saint Lucia, my mum,
  put a gift into my shoe;
  if mum won’t put it in,
  my little shoe will stay empty.}
• 6. fico di cavallo/asino {horse/donkey figue} = (a single piece of) horse/donkey excrement (since it has shape similar to that of a figue).