[Sca-cooks] Speaking of Lent....

[King's Taste Productions]

<snip>
Sure, money was a huge factor, but there were other means of obtaining
them on your own behalf by making pilgrimages, OBSERVING SAINT
VENERATION AND FEAST DAYS.  You might also look into the feast days as
opportunities in the Middle Ages.  They had LOTs of them for real
reasons . . . like lent.  you may find that observance of Saints'
officially sanctioned feast days sets aside the dietary restrictions . .
. maybe not . . . depends on time and place.

niccolo difrancesco
(yup, them Franciscans had indulgences, but not for money)


Hmm, there are a few interesting Saints that would be worth celebrating
along the way:

Feb 25th (Saturday)
St. Walburga's Feast Day (779) Patron Saint of Crops; Invoked against
Coughs, Frenzy, and the Plague. Abbess, daughter of St. Richard, she was
an herbalist. She once cured a girl with ravenous appetite with three
ears of grain (with which she is pictured). She established a mission in
Germany with her uncle and brothers. She has probably been merged with
the Teutonic goddess Walburg, who also has three ears of grain as her
symbol, and was celebrated as an agrarian fertility symbol in the
spring.

March 1st (Wednesday)
St. David's Feast Day (4th Cent)  Patron Saint of Wales & Poets. His
symbol is the leek, probably because he ate a lot of leeks as part of
his vegetarian diet.  He established many monasteries and  performed
some miracles. This date commemorates a Welsh victory over the English,
when they wore leeks in their hats to identify their countrymen.

MAR 3 (Friday)
St. Guignole's Feast Day (6th Cent) Patron Invoked against Impotence and
Infertility. A Celtic monk, he wore hair shirts and practiced
self-mortification. A statue to him includes a protruding male member,
and the faithful carve bits off for charms, without diminishing the
statue. (A miracle). He was much revered during the Middle Ages for
virility, and his likeness was used in puppet shows, an equivalent of
Punch. Jesters carry a stick with his likeness, called a "Googol".  (The
first Court Jesters appeared in Europe around 1202.) (This is one of my
favorites!)

March 9th (Thursday)
St. Frances of Rome's Feast Day (1440) Patron Saint of Motorists and
Widows. A noble matron known for her heroic charity, she had a constant
vision of Guardian Angel at her side, which enabled her to see in the
dark. (Hence the patronage of motorists). She also had graphic visions
of Hell, which she described in detail. 
St. Catherine of Bologna's Feast Day (1463) Patron Saint of Artists. A
Sister of the Poor Clares, she was visited by the Virgin Mary, who
allowed her to baby-sit the Christ Child briefly. Her body was
disentombed some years after her death, and found to still be sweet
smelling. It and a breviary she illustrated are on display still at her
convent.

MAR 13 (Monday)
St. Ansovinus' Feast Day (9th Cent) Patron Saint of Harvests. This
Italian bishop worked many miracles, including opening granaries for the
poor, and the granaries never emptied. He also performed his most famous
miracle in a tavern, filtering watered-down wine through his bishop's
hood, the water was removed for his companion's undiluted pleasure.

March 15th (Wednesday)
St. Louise de Marillac's Feast Day (17th Cent) Patron Saint of Orphans,
Widows, and Social Workers. Mme. Louise le Gras was a wealthy widow in
1625 Paris. Under the tutelage of St. Vincent de Paul, she founded the
Daughters of Charity, whose sisters took no vows. They staffed shelters
for abandoned women, orphanages, even schools throughout France. She
founded the Hotel Dieu in Paris, which inspired Florence Nightengale
centuries later.

MAR 17
St. Joseph of Arimathea's Feast Day (1st Cent) Patron Saint of Cemetery
Keepers, Pallbearers, Tin Miners, and Undertakers. A wealthy lawyer,
Joseph was converted and supplied his own tomb for Christ's burial. He
probably accompanied St. Mary Magdalene to France, then became the 1st
apostle to Britain, taking with him the Holy Grail. He established the
church at Glastonbury, Somerset. 
St. Patrick's Feast Day (493 or 461) Patron Saint of Ireland (w/St.
Bridget & St. Columbkille), Mann, and Nigeria; Invoked against Snakes.
Traditions on his feast day include driving the livestock out into the
pastures for the summer, and planting potatoes. "St. Patrick turns the
warm side of the stone uppermost" is an old Irish saying for his day.
Born in 387 (or 385) in England to parents that were Roman citizens of
Breton Celtic origins; taken to Ireland by pirates at 16; escaped; sent
back in 432 as a Bishop; drove the snakes (evil) from Ireland;
supposedly used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity; raised 33
people from the dead, caused the earth to swallow a heathen. Today the
shamrock is used as the symbol of Ireland, and of Patrick on his day. 
St. Gertrude of Nivelles' Feast Day (7th Cent) Patron Saint of Cats,
Gardeners, and Travelers, Invoked against Mice. Water from the well and
cakes baked in the convent of this Flemish nun are said to repel vermin.
Famous for her hospitality to strangers, Belgians still call a drink for
the road "St. Gertrude's cup".

MAR 19 (Sunday)
St. Joseph's Feast Day (29) Patron Saint of Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Carpenters, Fathers, Happy Death, House Hunting, Mexico, Peru, Viet Nam,
and Laborers; Invoked against Communism and Doubt.  Mary's husband,
Jesus' foster father.  He became represented as the "Divine Cuckold"
until the Reformation when he was updated to be a more positive role
model. He was updated again as a more red-blooded blue-collar guy in
1933 and given a separate Feast Day to combat Communism and underscore
May Day. (See May 1). In many parts of the world, including the U.S.,
small statues of Joseph are buried in the yards of houses up for sale in
slow markets.  
Dia de San Giuseppe - Italy - Joseph is the Patron Saint of the Poor, so
in some parts of southern Italy the people invite the poor to a special
banquet. Families ask a man, woman, and a child to be their guests of
honor by representing Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. In Valguarnera those who
feel they have been particularly blessed by Joseph during the year may
also invite people to represent Ann and Joachim- the parents of Mary-
and sometimes all 12 apostles, too. After the feast, the orphans and
beggars portraying the Holy Family et al proceed through the town on
mules, receiving gifts from the townspeople.  

MAR 25 (Saturday)
Feast of the Annunciation - All on March 25 - Adam and Eve created;
Jesus conceived; Jesus died on the cross; St. John the Baptist beheaded;
Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette.

March 26th (Sunday)
Mothering Sunday* - Feudal Europe - On Laetare Sunday (mid-Lent) in
spring, "fostered" children would go to visit their own families. A
sweet cake called a "simnel"- named for simila=fine flour, plum cakes or
cakes with almond paste baked inside were taken to their mothers.
Origins in the Greek Goddess Cybele, the goddess of nature (whom the
Greeks got from the Phrygians) and Roman festivities held to honor
motherhood.  
England - In the 17th Century, Christians went once a year to pay their
respects to the cathedral or mother church of their religion. The huge
gatherings gave so many people a chance to have family reunions that
they began to call it "going a-mothering", and they brought their
mothers flowers and cakes for the occasion. The custom died out in the
18th cent. But American soldiers stationed in England during WWII, who
observed the U.S. Mother's Day, reminded the English of their own
tradition and contributed to its revival.

April 4th (Tuesday)
St. Benedict the Black's Feast Day (16th Cent) Patron Saint of African
Americans. Born in Sicily in 1526 the son of African slaves, he was
granted freedom at age 18. He became known as "Il Santo Moro" or "The
Holy Negro" for his piety and charity, and while a hermit in the woods,
Pope Pius IV ordered all solitary hermits to join orders.  He entered a
Franciscan monastery, and worked as a cook. He had the extraordinary
notion that eating was a sinless pleasure, and became renowned for his
remarkable culinary skills and his miraculous ability to multiply food.
He was elected Superior, and was known to have a heavenly light about
his person when he prayed. On his sickbed he was visited by St. Ursula,
and the Virgin Mary, who let him hold the Christ child in his arms.

APR 9 (Sunday)
St. Casilda's Feast Day (?) Patron Saint invoked against Bad Luck and
Sterility. A Moorish princess, her father, the King of Toledo persecuted
Christians and kept them captive in his castle. Casilda visited the
prisoners with food and wine, and they converted her. Her father
confronted her on one of her missions of mercy, demanding to know what
she had under her cloak. She replied "Roses", and miraculously, the food
transformed into flowers. She lived as a solitary until she died at age
100. She is still revered in Toledo.

APR 12 (Wednesday)
St. Urban of Langres' Feast Day (4th Cent) Patron Saint of Barrel Makers
and Vintners, Invoked against Blight or Drought. A popular Bishop in
Burgundy, his protection is invoked by everyone in the wine-making
profession in the Cote-d'Or, Champagne, and Haute-Marne districts.



That should be enough to 'keep meat on the table' as it were!
Christianna