The Diocese of Allentown celebrated the feast day of St. Lucy earlier this week, on Dec. 13.

“#FeastDay Beloved Light of St. Lucy, increase and preserve His light in my soul so that I may avoid evil, be zealous in the performance of good works and abhor nothing so much as the blindness and darkness of evil and sin. St. Lucy, pray for us,” the Diocese of Allentown posted on Facebook.

The holiday was made in honor of Saint Lucy, also commonly known as St. Lucia. The Sicilian native had no interest in materialistic possessions, and instead aspired to be like St. Agatha, who remained a virgin.

 When an angry man reported her to the Roman authorities and forced her into a brothel for prostitution, legend says St. Lucy became immovable. Many considered the occurrence to be a divine intervention that would free her from her prison.

According to Brittanica, authorities then sentenced Lucy to death by sword, marking her feast day, which is now celebrated by many around the world.  With her name meaning “light” or “lucid,” she is considered the patron saint of blindness, the website Catholic reports.

St. Lucy is also venerated in Sweden, Norway, and parts of Finland, commonly known in these places as St. Lucia’s Day. In honor of the holiday, towns are flooded with young children dressed in white, with girls wearing wreaths of lights on their heads as they sing traditional songs as they walk in an orderly fashion.

The tradition symbolizes the beginning of the Christmas season, which is said to bring light into the darkest time of the year, Britannica explains.