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reetings from Australia.
Welcome to this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations, birthdays and events.
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Clara Bow, no matter
how great her popularity, was a low-life and disgrace to the
community. The more I see of
men, the more I like dogs. It? Hell, she had
Those! Of all the men I've
known, there was a man. Clara Bow, replied in her perfect Brooklynese accent, when asked what 'It' was |
Tarasque
|
July
29
is
the 210th
day of the year in the Gregorian
Calendar (211th in leap years), with 155
days remaining.
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Feast day of St Martha,
virgin, dragon charmer
(Red chironia, Chironia centaureum, is
today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)
Many cultures have dragonslaying heroes and heroines, and Martha
is a European one with a good lineage, as she first appears in the Bible.
Martha was
sister to St Lazarus of Bethany (whom
Jesus Christ
raised from the dead; feast day also today, see below)
and St Mary
Magdalen, and is matron saint of good housewives. According to one legend, she left Palestine
after Jesus'
death, around 48,
and went to Provence with her sister Mary (possibly Mary Magdalen) and her brother
Lazarus. Martha first settled in Avignon
(now in France), then went to Tarascon,
France. In art she is depicted in homely costume, often with a
bunch of keys on a girdle, and holding a ladle of water. She is
accompanied by a bound dragon, as she destroyed Tarasque
(pictured), a female dragon, which she did by praising
the monster for its goodness.
Tarasque inhabited the
area of Tarascon
(near Marseilles) in Provence, and devastated the landscape far and wide.
The tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an
ox-like body
covered with a spiked turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended
in a scorpion
sting. She
had a lion's
head, horse's ears, and the
face of a bitter old man. On November 25, 2005 the UNESCO
included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
(see
more).
Martha is the patron saint of Tarascon which was named after the dragon, as was the herb tarragon. After the townsfolk killed Tarasque, Martha wept for the dragon but forgave the people for they had suffered so long. Or, so it is said.
Martha's
patronage includes butlers, cooks, dietitians, domestic servants, hotel-keepers, housewives, laundry workers and travellers.
The Golden
Legend: The Life of Saint Martha
Tarragon Sauce
Ingredients: Tarragon, stock, butter, flour.
To half a pint of good stock add two good sprays of fresh tarragon, simmer
for quarter of an hour in a stewpan and keep the lid on. In another stewpan
melt one ounce of butter and mix it with three dessert-spoonsful of flour,
then gradually pour the stock from the first stewpan over it, but take out
the tarragon. Mix well, add a teaspoonful of finely chopped tarragon and
boil for two minutes.
Of saints and serpents*
Many Christian saints are known to have been associated with dragons; some are dragon-slayers, while some are depicted in art with dragons for various other reasons, such as a representation of Satan (dragons and serpents are quite numerous in the Bible).
They include: Saints Anatolia and Audax, Andrew Abellon, Adelphus, Armel (Armagillus) of Brittany, Armentaire (Armentarius of Antibes) of Draguignan, Attracta, Barlaam, Cadoc, Catherine, Celestine I, Clement, Columba, Donatus, Dometius of Phrygia, George, Germanus, Gilbert of Caithness, Godehard of Hildesheim, Guthlac, Hilarion of Gaza, Hilary of Poitiers, John the Divine, John of Reomay, Julian of Le Mans, Juliana of Nicomedia, Keyne, Liphardus (Lifard) of Orléans, Magnus of Füssen, Marcellus of Avignon, Marcellus (Marceau) of Paris, Margaret of Antioch, Margaret of Scotland, Martha, Michael, Paul the Apostle, Perpetua, Philip, Samson of Dol, Brittany, Simeon Stylites, Sylvester, Theodore Sratelates, Theodore Tiro, Victor of Marseille, Victoria, Virgin Mary.
Saints associated with snakes or snakebite: Dominic of Sora, Hilary of Poitiers, Magnus of Füssen, Patrick, Paul the Apostle, Pirmin, Vitus.
*Know any more info? You might like to tell me at Corrigenda.
More fun for dragon hunters
The Rogation Days are a prime source of dragon legends in Britain.
Pickled dragon hoax Feast of the Dragon, China Snap the Dragon
Day of the Fire Dragons Dragon and Japan's Suwa Shrine Dragon in Slovenia
Geronimo's dragon tale Beating the dragon, England Ladon the dragon Dragon boat fest
Hindu goddess Sarasvati and dragon Dragons over London, 1222 Dragons battle, England, 1449
D.R.A.G.O.N.S. Dragons of the British Isles List of dragons European dragon
Dragon bestiary Dragon Hill Here Be Dragons! Angels, saints and fantasy links
Find an error or dead link?
Like to make a suggestion, or just say "G'day"?
Meet me at Corrigenda
Around this time, ancient Northern Tradition honours the god
whom the Anglo-Saxons called Thunor and the Norse, 
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