St. LUCY’S DAY in Sicily (Italy)

She is the patron saint of vision, as well as the patron saint of the city of her birth, Syracuse. In Italian, the word 'lucia' means light.

The legend tells that many years ago in Sicily there was long time of caresty. People were hungry and they had not flour and bread.
The 13th of December (saint Lucy’s Day) arrived to the Palermo’s harbour a big boat, it brought rise, grain and chickpeas. The hungry people went on the boat and took the rise and the grain and boiled and eat them , without grinding the grain in flour. They were rescued!!
So in Sicily , since that day it is tradition no to eat bread and pasta in St Lucy’s day but only rise and grain.
We usually cook and eat in this day the "Arancine" they are bals of rise fool of meat and another particular food we use to make is the Cuccia,

it is a sweet made with grain ricotta(kind of cottage cheese), sugar and candied fruit.
All the mothers in the neighborhood made cuccia, each in her own unique way. Some were sweeter, some had chocolate, some had citron, some had both.