Every Day Is Special: saint

Showing posts with label saint. Show all posts

January 27 - Feast of Sainte Devote in Monaco

Posted on January 27, 2020

There is a sad story connected to many a saint, and Sainte Devote is no exception. At age 19, the story goes, Devote lived a life dedicated to Christianity in Corsica (an island between France and Italy). This was back in the 300s, and the Roman Empire had not yet embraced Christianity; the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered Devote to be arrested and even killed.

Christians were able to get Devote's body and wanted to ship it to Africa for burial, but a huge storm kicked up in the Mediterranean Sea. The boat carrying Devote's body wound up on the shores of what is now the principality of Monaco, and so she is buried there instead.

Devote became a Catholic saint, and a chapel was built in Monaco to house her remains.

Apparently someone tried to steal her remains a looooooong time ago, but believers were able to stop the thief and - as punishment - burned his boat.

That boat burning, centuries ago, is the reason that every year, on January 27 (the Feast Day of Sainte Devote), there is a boat-burning ceremony in front of Devote's chapel.

By the way, Monaco is lovely:

Also on this date:

Birthday of chemist Dmitri Mendeleev

National Geographic Day

Soldag in Norway

Thomas Crapper Day

Vietnam Peace Day

Mozart's birthday

Author Lewis Carroll's birthday

National Activity Professionals Week

St. Sava Day in Serbia

Holocaust Memorial Day

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day

(Last Monday in January)

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February holidays
February birthdays
Historical anniversaries in February

November 23 - Saint George's Day in Georgia

Posted on November 23, 2019

I read that Saint George is viewed as so important in the nation of Georgia, a majority of the churches in that country were built in his honor.

St. George Church at the Gelati Monastery,
in Georgia.

And that St. George is considered the patron saint of the nation.

And that St. George appears in Georgia's emblem / coat of arms.

And that Giorgi, which derives from the name "George," is the most popular name for boys and men in the nation!

One of Georgia's more famous Giorgis is footballer
Giorgi Chakvetadze, considered a rising star in 2019.

(Apparently, the name of the country of Georgia did not come from the saint, even though the rumor that it did has been around for centuries.)

I read that every day a feast dedicated to St. George is served somewhere in Georgia.

St. George is supposed to have died on April 23, and most people who celebrate St. George's Day do so on April 23; however, others celebrate on January 25, April 24, May 6, and November 23.

I read that St. George's Day is celebrated in Georgia twice a year: on the anniversary of the saint's death, May 6 (which is April 23 on the Julian calendar), and on the anniversary of the saint's torture, November 23 (Nov. 10 on the Julian calendar). There are festive church services and feasting, and people have the day off from work and school.

St. George lived during the late Third and early Fourth Century; he was a Greek man who served as a soldier in the Roman Empire. He was tortured and eventually killed for refusing to give up his Christian beliefs.

By the way, the beast at the bottom of this photo is the dragon that St. George is supposed to have slain.

Also on this date:

National Eat a Cranberry Day

Dr. Who Day

Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan

Anniversary of the discovery of

fossils in Antarctica

Fibonacci Day

Anniversary of the introduction of the jukebox

U.S. President Pierce's Birthday

Family Volunteer Day

(Saturday before Thanksgiving)

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

November holidays
November birthdays
Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December holidays
December birthdays
Historical anniversaries in December

October 4 - St. Petronius Day in Italy

Posted October 4, 2019

"Patron saints" in the Catholic religion sometimes have a long list of groups of people and even cities that count that saint as their very own patron. For example, Saint Peter is the patron saint of bakers, bridge builders, butchers, fishermen, harvesters, cordwainers, locksmiths, cobblers, net makers, shipwrights, and stationers (and maybe other workers!!!). He is also the patron saint of places as far-flung as Las Vegas (Nevada, U.S.), Birżebbuġa (Malta), Worms (Germany), Pubnico (Nova Scotia, Canada), Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), Calahag (Philippines), and Toa Baja (Puerto Rico).

But today's featured saint, St. Petronius, seems to have only one item on his patronage list: the city of Bologna, in Italy.

That's a pretty good item! Bologna is the seventh largest city in Italy and in the Middle Ages was one of the largest cities in all of Europe.

This modern-looking landscape is a computer-generated
3-D map of the medieval towers of Bologna. During the
Middle Ages, this city had as many as 180 towers!!!

It was a major center for the Etruscan civilization (an ancient pre-Roman-Empire power).