This is saint Lucy. I was surprised to find out she was Sicilian since most images I’d seen of her were blonde! Very little is actually known about her except that she was killed under Diocletian (bad, bad man!) in about 304 AD. But there is plenty of legend surrounding her including that she was very difficult to kill, was made so heavy even oxen couldn’t pull her out of her cell when her captors tried to force her into a brothel (something the Romans liked to do to the Christian women that had consecrated their virginity), she’d bring supplies to the Christians hiding in the catacombs and tied candles to her head to keep both hands free (which my daughter informed me isn’t very safe), and she had her eyes gouged out and they were miraculously retuned to their sockets upon her death (which is why she is the patron saint of eye patients).
The Scandanavian countries are very enthusiastic about her feast day on December 13 (hence all the blonde images). She’s a bearer of light around a time when they’re stuck in the dark a lot (winter solstice).
If you’d like to hang up this little icon to brighten up your home for the coming winter short days, click here.
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