> From: CA Muessig [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> Laurence, martyr (258): One of the seven deacons who served the Roman
> church. Martyred during the Emperor Valerian's reign. Valerian had
> Laurence bound upon an iron bed and slowly roasted him to death.
> According to the legends, Laurence's face appeared to be surrounded
> with a beautiful light, and his body gave off a sweet smell. Having
> suffered a long time, he turned to the judge and said with a cheerful
> smile: "Let my body be turned, one side is broiled enough." When the
> execution turned him, he said: "It is cooked enough, you may eat."
>
I've been reading with fascination about the role of St. Laurence's
feast in the sowing and harvesting of wheat in Estonia and surrounding
areas.
http://haldjas.folklore.ee/folklore/vol3/laur.htm
There are harvest customs in parts of Estonia that are almost
identical to those documented in Ireland as part of Lughnasa (beginning of
harvest celebrations), traditionally taking place at the beginning of August
or thereabouts. For example, both involved rituals to protect horses and one
Estonian folktale describes how to use fire to thresh the first wheat
quickly so that bread could be made from it before sundown. This is what was
done in parts of Ireland and Scotland as part of Lughnasa.
Francine Nicholson
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