Saint Vitus's Dance

http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/book/jun15.html Feast day of Ss Vitus (Guy), Crescentia, and Modestus, martyrs
(Sensitive plant, Mimosa sensit, is today's plant, dedicated to Vitus.)

Martyred during the Diocletian persecution, St Vitus was a Sicilian youth. He was killed with his tutor, Modestus, and nurse, Crescentia, about 303.

He was converted in Sicily as a boy by his nurse, and fled his father's wrath to Italy, where he was martyred under the reign of Diocletian. According to the legend, his father was angry that his son had been converted to Christianity by his nurse and her husband, so Dad turned him over to the authorities. While Vitus was in prison, angels danced for him, so he is the patron of dancers, actors, comedians and mummers and those inflicted with fit-producing diseases like epilepsy and chorea (also known as 'St Vitus's Dance') ...



Categories: saint, folklore, legend, christianity, health