According to legend, Lucy (283-304) was a Roman Christian who was martyred for her faith. Some stories say she was tortured to death by having her eyes plucked out. Another story says she plucked them out herself because a pagan suitor admired them. After her martyrdom, when her body was being prepared for burial, it was discovered that her eyes were miraculously restored. The story is rich with symbolism. Lucy is derived from the Latin word "lux" or light. The eyes are the light of the soul. Her feast is near the winter solstice when light will start to increase. This is probably why her feast is especially popular in Scandinavian countries where it is celebrated with a young girl wearing a crown of lit candles.

December 13 is the birthday of French painter HENRI-PAUL MOTTE (1846-1922). He was a French artistic painter from Paris, who specialised in history painting and historical genre. He was a pupil of the artist Jean-Léon Gérôme and began to exhibit at the Paris Salon from 1874 onwards. The painting Le cheval de Troie (The Trojan horse) was the artist's début at the Salon, and was acquired by the Wadsworth Atheneum in 2011. In 1892 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. He won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle (1900). He is best known for his work of the Siege of La Rochelle, a depiction of Cardinal Richelieu in battle during the 17th century, completed in 1881. To see samples of his work, CLICK HERE.

Deember 13 is the birthday of the author and illustrator of more than 200 children's books Leonard LEONARD JOSEPH WEISGARD (1916-2000).

Weisgard's "first book, Suki the Siamese Pussy, was published in 1937, and his first collaboration with Brown was two years later, The Noisy Book. He won the 1948 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Little Island, written by Brown. They collaborated again on The Important Book, published by Harper & Brothers in 1949. Altogether, Weisgard illustrated at least 14 of Brown's books, including two that were published posthumously. (Brown wrote the text for six books that were published as by 'Golden MacDonald.' All were unpaged picture books illustrated by Weisgard and published by Doubleday.)" (Wikipedia) To see more samples of his work, CLICK HERE.