My Finnish hosts have already told me a different story of Lucy – that her hated suitor claimed her eyes were the most beautiful in the world, so she gouged them out and sent them to him, pointing out that now he had her eyes he could leave her alone. The story is clearly a play on the legends of her losing her eyes in her martyrdom, but twisted into a delightfully nasty little fairy story. It’s telling, as well, that while most saints have a saint’s day, Lucy has her night.
