Feast day of St Lawrence

St Lawrence, a 3rd-Century archdeacon of Rome, was martyred by being roasted on a gridron.

There is an old English expression, 'Lazy as Lawrence' (or 'Lazy as Lawrence's dog'; Larrence, an imaginary being was supposed by Scottish peasantry to preside over the lazy and indolent) -- tradition has it that while being roasted he asked to be turned, saying,

This side enough is toasted, so turn me, tyrant, eat,
And see whether raw or roasted I make the better meat.

Lawrence's tears and the Perseid meteor showers
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 ...

Categories: saint, calendar-customs, folklore, astronomy, christianity, medieval