*Ø* Blogmanac August 24 | A prosperous Autumn ahead? Look outside
If the twenty-fourth of August be fair and clear,
Then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year.
English traditional proverb
Bathe your eyes on Bartimy Day,
You may throw your spectacles away.
English traditional proverb
Today’s plant
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus, was designated today’s plant by medieval monks. It is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew (Nathanael bar Tolomai), Apostle whose feast day this is.
Bartlemas
The feast day of St Bartholomew was so called in old England. This saint was one of the apostles of Jesus. His symbol is a butcher’s knife, in allusion to the knife with which he was flayed alive for his faith. He is the patron saint of butchers, skinners, tanners, bookbinders and all leatherworkers, as well as nervous disorders and Armenia.
He is also patron of the honey crop. At Gulval, Cornwall, UK, the Blessing of the Mead ceremony still takes place on St Bartholomew’s Day. Mead is an ancient fermented drink made from herb-infused honey. In ancient Rome this sweet drink was offered to the gods of love and fertility.
Bartholomew Fair
Held annually for centuries on St Bartholomew’s Day at Smithfield near London on this day from 1133 to 1855, this English fair began with a vision. Rahere, the jester of King Henry I, said he had seen the apostle Bartholomew in a vision and he had directed him to found a church and hospital in his honour. After the work was done, Rahere established a fair which was to begin on his patron’s day, August 24, and go for three days.
It was the custom to eat roast pig at the fair held so the term Bartholomew pig denoted a fat person. (Thou whoreson little tidy Bartholomew boar-pig - Shakespeare, Henry IV, Pt II, II)
The play Bartholomew Fair (1614) by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), depicts the customs associated with the popular English fair held annually on this day. Jonson’s play is peopled with balladeers, stall holders, prostitutes and cut-purses.
The Shepherds’ Race
In a delightful old (at least 1443) tradition from Markgröningen in Germany, on St Bartholomew’s Day shepherds from the lowlands gather on a field for footraces. First the males, then the females race. The winners are crowned and lead their prize, a garlanded sheep, in procession. The day is filled with sack races, egg races, dancing and traditional games. One involves tipping a beaker of water with the head, without getting wet, in order to win a cockerel.
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1572 The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Huguenot Protestants occurred in Paris, at the instigation of Catherine de’ Medici, mother of Charles IX. Some 70,000 people were massacred in the tribulation that began on this day.
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The Bartholomew Act
On this day, St Bartholomew’s, 1662, after the restoration of the monarchy in England and the fall of the Puritans, Parliament passed an act which required all clergymen to follow the Book of Common Prayer. Two thousand clergymen left the church in the face of repression and were denied the right to trial by jury.
If the twenty-fourth of August be fair and clear,
Then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year.
English traditional proverb
Bathe your eyes on Bartimy Day,
You may throw your spectacles away.
English traditional proverb
Today’s plant
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus, was designated today’s plant by medieval monks. It is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew (Nathanael bar Tolomai), Apostle whose feast day this is.
Bartlemas
The feast day of St Bartholomew was so called in old England. This saint was one of the apostles of Jesus. His symbol is a butcher’s knife, in allusion to the knife with which he was flayed alive for his faith. He is the patron saint of butchers, skinners, tanners, bookbinders and all leatherworkers, as well as nervous disorders and Armenia.
He is also patron of the honey crop. At Gulval, Cornwall, UK, the Blessing of the Mead ceremony still takes place on St Bartholomew’s Day. Mead is an ancient fermented drink made from herb-infused honey. In ancient Rome this sweet drink was offered to the gods of love and fertility.
Bartholomew Fair
Held annually for centuries on St Bartholomew’s Day at Smithfield near London on this day from 1133 to 1855, this English fair began with a vision. Rahere, the jester of King Henry I, said he had seen the apostle Bartholomew in a vision and he had directed him to found a church and hospital in his honour. After the work was done, Rahere established a fair which was to begin on his patron’s day, August 24, and go for three days.
It was the custom to eat roast pig at the fair held so the term Bartholomew pig denoted a fat person. (Thou whoreson little tidy Bartholomew boar-pig - Shakespeare, Henry IV, Pt II, II)
The play Bartholomew Fair (1614) by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), depicts the customs associated with the popular English fair held annually on this day. Jonson’s play is peopled with balladeers, stall holders, prostitutes and cut-purses.
The Shepherds’ Race
In a delightful old (at least 1443) tradition from Markgröningen in Germany, on St Bartholomew’s Day shepherds from the lowlands gather on a field for footraces. First the males, then the females race. The winners are crowned and lead their prize, a garlanded sheep, in procession. The day is filled with sack races, egg races, dancing and traditional games. One involves tipping a beaker of water with the head, without getting wet, in order to win a cockerel.
1572 The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Huguenot Protestants occurred in Paris, at the instigation of Catherine de’ Medici, mother of Charles IX. Some 70,000 people were massacred in the tribulation that began on this day.
The Bartholomew Act
On this day, St Bartholomew’s, 1662, after the restoration of the monarchy in England and the fall of the Puritans, Parliament passed an act which required all clergymen to follow the Book of Common Prayer. Two thousand clergymen left the church in the face of repression and were denied the right to trial by jury.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 2:01 PM | Permalink
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