If the Church celebrates Saint Lucia on December 13, the diocese of Alsace celebrates Saint Odile on that day to remember the day of her death, and moves Saint Lucia two days later, on the 15th. Florists’ calendars sometimes include Saint Odile December 14.
Today, in Alsace, we celebrate the patron saint of our region, Heiligi Odilià, Schùtzpàtronin vom Elsàss. This calendar imbroglio reminds us of the links that unite the two saints, both daughters of the Light. Like Odile, Lucie (from the Latin lux, light) is patron saint of the blind: before her martyrdom, given with a sword in 305, her eyes were gouged out (or, according to another version, she would have torn them out herself- even so that they are not the source of sin).
Yes, for certain biblical episodes, we should add a mention “forbidden to less than 12 years”. The Virgin Mary offered Lucia even more beautiful eyes; From the 14th century, we sometimes find representations of Lucie, with her eyes on a plate, as for Odile, moreover. Chance of the calendar, or not, Odile “chose” to die on the feast of Saint Lucia, the latter welcoming her at the gates of Heaven.
In Alsace, the parish of Nederharje, Niederhergheim is the only one in Alsace dedicated to Saint Lucia, but Saint Odile can also be found there, very close to the altar. Let us come back to our Odile, for her, it is the oil of Baptism that makes her cover her sight, a metaphor for the blindness of humans without faith. It is also only then that the young Alsatian receives the name Odile which means “Light of God”, from the Alsatian Ottilie from the old German Gotteslich.
For the feast of Lucia the Sicilian, we light candles, and in the Scandinavian countries, candles arranged on a fir wreath covering the head of a young girl dressed in white, which strongly recall the Christkindel AND the crown of the Advent. All this announces the approach of the solstice and the birth of Christ. For Odile the Alsatian, there is in her attributes a rooster, it is not the French gallinaceous but the rooster which announces the rising of the day and the triumph of light over darkness. We will talk about this again at the winter solstice next week!