Lawrence's tears and the Perseid meteor showers

Today is St Lawrence's day in the Christian tradition, commemorating the saint, a 3rd-Century archdeacon of Rome who was roasted alive on a gridiron.

The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, and very bright at this time of year (generally visible between July 23 and August 22, peaking around August 13). Thus, in England the meteors in medieval times were called 'the fiery tears of St Lawrence' as they were visible on his day, and also related symbolically to the torments of the martyr ...

The Perseids get their name from usually making their appearance in or near the constellation Perseus, named for the Greek god ...

Tagged: calendar+customs, astronomy, saints, folklore, mythology