In medieval times, this day (more or less) marked the Winter Solstice (which, given the accumulated lag over the centuries of the Julian Calendar, was pretty accurate back then).
"Lucia" of course comes from the Latin for "LIGHT." She's an early Christian martyr from Sicily who, according to accounts, got her eyes poked out.
Wow!
Returning to astronomical concerns: the Gregorian calendar pushed everything back on track in the late 16th century. But it's still true that sunset starts getting later today. Technically, we will still lose a couple more minutes before the days start getting longer, but all the loss from now until the 21st (which is not much) is on the sunrise side of the day.
This means that we have passed the nadir of "afternoon darkness." (For the morning, at least there's coffee.☕)
Therefore, in the spirit of this traditional martyr's feast I wish you all a HAPPY MIDWINTER!❄⛄
... okay yeah, for Argentine and Australian peeps, of course, "Happy Midsummer" and stop-making-me-jealous-with-all-your-BEACH-pictures (I'm joking! 😉).
Saint Lucy, pray for us!
