OMAHA, Neb.- A tradition that dates back more than 100 years is still very much alive in Omaha’s Little Italy.
Omaha’s Santa Lucia Festival was founded back in 1925 by Grazia Bonafede Caniglia, an immigrant from Sicily who walked every morning to say her prayers at St. Philomena Catholic Church, now St. Frances Cabrini.
She wanted to recreate the Santa Lucia Festival to give other Italian immigrants a connection to their former country, and also to their faith…