!!!Lucia, Heilige

Lucia, Saint, Virgin from Syracuse, feast day December 13; died as a 
martyr around 303. Her feast day is one of the "Lostage" (critical 
days on which the weather is considered crucial in determining the 
weather of the coming season).  Lostage (e.g. Luciaweizen" ("Lucia 
wheat"): it is believed that if wheat planted on Dec. 13 in a dish of 
soil begins to sprout by Christmas Eve, the next year's harvest will 
be good). The date also has traditional importance as a deadline in 
legal disputes. In Burgenland and in Styria, Lucia appears as a mummed 
figure (related to the Perchten tradition),  Perchten either alone 
("Lutzelfrau", "Budelfrau", "Budelmutter") or in groups ("Lutzerln"). 
She is either known as a dark figure of terror or a benevolent spirit 
who brings presents for children, similar to the role of the "Nikolo" 
or the "Christkindlfrau" in Eastern Austria.

!Literature
L. Kretzenbacher, Santa Lucia und die Lutzelfrau, 1959.


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