Before the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar, this was roughly the shortest day of the year. Lucia's name comes from the Latin for "light", so her feast day is celebrated with candlelight ceremonies. The Scandinavians are pretty keen on anything that will drive away the 18 hours of darkness they have at this time of year.
Lucia or Lucy was a Sicilian martyr with a story basically similar to all other 3rd-century virgin martyrs who refused to marry pagans. Best part of the story: Roman officials tried to drag her to a brothel, but even 1000 men and 50 oxen pulling were unable to budge her. Beheading ultimately proved more successful (though even once bisected, she refused to die until she had been given communion).
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