Santa Lucia

Today is the day of Santa Lucia which is celebrated randomly around the world, e.g. in Sicily (Siracusa) Scandinavia and in some cities of Northern Italy , such as Bergamo. Here children will write a letter and bring it to the Santa Lucia Chapel in Bergamo in due time for the big day, asking her for presents which the blind saint will then distribute during the night before 13th of december, travelling through space (and time) on her donkey. Children will leave carrots and hay for the donkey and biscuits and wine or milk for the saint. Santa Lucia has never brought gifts for my children (except for the sweets that she left for all the children of the kindergarten when they were younger) for as you know, the gift-distributing superpowers of the world gather every year and make agreements on who brings gifts to whom, in order to maintain balance in the incoming gifts (well, among western world's children), and since my children were so lucky that the Icelandic jólasveinn (the 13 father christmas of Iceland) bothered to travel all the way to Italy on the busy nights before christmas to bring their small treats for my children, then Santa Lucia concentrated her generosity on other children.

In todays blip there is the night view of my town's center with the Native Scene that volonteers make every year on the river, never the same 2 years in a row! This year it is smaller than usual, probably because of covid, but it does give a great festive atmosphere to the town.