Found 27 resource(s) in 'Holy Days', for February 2020.
High Days & Holy Days (all) for February 2020
Editor: As saints’ days do not change, this material has appeared before on this site. The days with the asterisk, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, are new this year. 1 Brigid of Ireland – Abbess of Kildare, c 525 2 The Presentation of Christ in the Temple/ Candlemas 3 Anskar – Archbishop of Hamburg,... (7643 words)1 February – Brigid of Ireland: compassion and love
Brigid, you could say, was the female Patrick of Ireland. Historical facts about this first abbess of Kildare (d.c. 525) may be scarce, but her ‘Lives’, written from the 7th century, tell many anecdotes and miracles which over the centuries have become deeply rooted in Irish folklore. Brigid came from a village near Kildare, of... (244 words)2 February – The Presentation of Christ in the Temple/ Candlemas
In bygone centuries, Christians said their last farewells to the Christmas season on Candlemas, 2 February. This is exactly 40 days after Christmas Day itself. In New Testament times 40 days old was an important age for a baby boy: it was when they made their first ‘public appearance’. Mary, like all good Jewish mothers,... (236 words)3 February – Anskar: the busy evangelist
Anskar (801-865) should be the patron saint of any Christian who loves doing mission… and who discovers that evangelists meet the most amazing people, and that their lives are full of surprises…. It was the 9th century, and Anskar had grown up in a noble family in Amiens. He decided to forsake it all in... (326 words)3 February – Blaise: the cure for sore throats
St Blaise is the saint for you if you have a sore throat, or a pet who is ill. He was born in Sebastea, ancient Armenia, (now Sivas, in Turkey) sometime during the late 3rd century, and became a physician. But his compassion did not stop there: he went on to become bishop of Sebastea,... (218 words)4 February – Phileas: brave bishop & martyr of Egypt
When did you first encounter Christianity? If it was an adult, then Phileas is a saint for you. His life shows that Truth matters, whenever you encounter it, but is also a warning that you need to count the cost of becoming a Christian. Phileas was a rich man living in Egypt at the end... (391 words)6 February – The Martyrs of Japan: courage in persecution
Persecution of Christians in various countries is making the headlines these days. Believers facing such opposition might well find inspiration from the courage of the Japanese Christians of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The Jesuit Francis Xavier had first brought Christianity to Japan in 1549, when he persuaded Shimazu Takahisa, the daimyo of... (345 words)8 February – Kew and the wild boar
St Kew has nothing to do with gardens or the ‘Q’ of James Bond fame. This Kew was a girl who lived in Cornwall in the 5th century, and should be the patron saint of girls with difficult older brothers. Kew’s older brother was a hermit who felt his younger sister was not worthy to... (197 words)10 February – Scholastica: the persuasive sister
Scholastica (d.c. 543) should be the patron saint of any woman who can bend her brother to do her will – no matter how ‘powerful’ that brother might seem to other people. For Scholastica’s brother was no less than the great monk Benedict, who founded the famous Benedictine order and lived at Monte Cassino. In... (180 words)11 February – Caedmon: the poetic shepherd
Caedmon (d 680) should be the patron saint of all farmers who enjoy humming to themselves as they do the lambing this Spring. For Caedmon of Whitby was a bit like David in the Bible – he grew up as a simple herdsman out on the hills who enjoyed composing songs and poetry for himself... (235 words)14 February – Valentine’s Day
There are two confusing things about this day of romance and anonymous love-cards strewn with lace, cupids and ribbon: firstly, there seems to have been two different Valentines in the 4th century – one a priest martyred on the Flaminian Way, under the emperor Claudius, the other a bishop of Terni martyred at Rome. And... (235 words)14 February – The very first Valentine card: a legend
The Roman Emperor Claudius II needed soldiers. He suspected that marriage made men want to stay at home with their wives, instead of fighting wars, so he outlawed marriage. A kind-hearted young priest named Valentine felt sorry for all the couples who wanted to marry, but couldn’t. So secretly he married as many couples as... (148 words)14 February – St Valentine’s Day: a poem
Saint Valentine’s Day, many believe, was named after one or more Christian martyrs and was established by Pope Gelasius 1 in 496 AD. Valentine of Rome was martyred about 269, and this day usually ‘belongs’ to him. The first recorded association of Valentine Day with romantic love (1382) is from Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote, ‘For... (168 words)15 February – Thomas Bray: founder of SPCK
Thomas Bray was once called a “Great Small Man”, with good reason. This diminutive 18th century English clergyman (1658 – 1730) not only helped to establish the Church of England in Maryland, but he was also founder of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) in 1698 and the Society for the Propagation... (331 words)17 February – Janani Luwum: Archbishop & martyr of Uganda
The Most Reverend Janani Luwum (d 1977) was the sitting Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and Boga Zaire when 35 years ago this month he was murdered by the dictator Idi Amin. At the time the Church in Uganda was on the verge of centennial celebrations of its birth through the seed of the... (221 words)22 February – Margaret of Cortona: sad search for acceptance and love
Did you have a miserable childhood? Were your parents more absorbed in themselves than in you? Later, looking for love, did you fall for the wrong man? Perhaps you now have children of your own, and struggle to raise them. If you feel your life has been ‘wrong-footed’ from the start, and that there is... (470 words)23 February – Polycarp: faithful servant who would not deny his Lord
Polycarp (c. 69 – c. 155) was one of the most important Christians in Roman Asia in the mid-2nd century, because of his link between the time of the Apostles and the earliest Christian Fathers. This disciple of John the Apostle became bishop of Smyrna and defended orthodox Christian belief against the heresies of Marcion... (339 words)24 February – Matthias the Apostle: the chosen one
Have you ever been in the position where someone is desperately needed – and you fit the bill perfectly? It is almost as if all your miscellaneous qualifications that never made much sense before now make PERFECT sense. And you sense that you have been chosen by God for the task…. If so, then Matthias... (307 words)24 February – Matthias the Apostle: the chosen one
Have you ever been in the position where someone is desperately needed – and you fit the bill perfectly? It is almost as if all your miscellaneous qualifications that never made much sense before now make PERFECT sense. And you sense that you have been chosen by God for the task…. If so, then Matthias... (307 words)NEW * 25 February – Shrove Tuesday: Who’s for pancakes?
Editor: by David Winter Why do we have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, as we call it today? And what is Shrove Tuesday? And why do thousands of people feel it rewarding to race along a street somewhere tossing pancakes from their frying pans as they go? Well, the answer to the first... (306 words)25 February – SHROVE TUESDAY: Pancake Day
Ever wonder why we eat pancakes just before Lent? The tradition dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when Christians spent Lent in repentance and severe fasting. So on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the church bell would summon them to confession, where they would be ‘shriven’, or absolved from their sins, which gives us Shrove Tuesday. ... (238 words)*NEW 26 February – Ash Wednesday: My memory of the Passover in Jerusalem
Editor: by David Winter At the end of this month Ash Wednesday introduces the Christian preparation for Easter, which normally coincides with Passover, the major Jewish celebration of the year. It’s near Easter because Jesus was crucified at Passover, having just shared this very meal with his disciples. Passover celebrates and recalls the Israelites’ escape... (232 words)26 February – ASH WEDNESDAY: mourning our sins
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. But why ‘Ash’ Wednesday? The reason has to do with getting things right between you and God, and the tradition goes right back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Israelites often sinned. When they finally came to their senses, and saw their evil ways as God saw... (439 words)27 February – Gabriel Possenti: the enjoyment of romance
If you have been hurt in your search for romantic love, Gabriel Possenti (1838-62) may be a good saint for you. Because Possenti, born to the governor of Assisi, began by having it all. He grew up doing the mid-19th century equivalent of eBay, nightclubs, cinema and online dating, only in those days it was... (345 words)27 February – George Herbert: priest and poet
If we were to name someone prominent from the 17th century, we might mention Rembrandt or Shakespeare. It is unlikely we would remember George Herbert. However, he was a prolific writer, a gifted speaker and musician. His hymns are still sung today. Herbert was born into a wealthy family in Mid-Wales on 3rd April 1593.... (349 words)27 February – The Vicar’s a Poet
On 27th February the Church Calendar celebrates George Herbert. For those who are muttering ‘never heard of him’, just think of the hymn ‘Let all the world/ In every corner sing’, which he wrote, along with several other hymns which are still popular, even if they are well over 300 years old. In the course... (257 words)29 February – Oswald of Worcester: the saint for Leap Year
There is a saint for Leap Year: He is St Oswald of Worcester, who died on 29th February 992. His family story was extraordinary, and full of some surprising ‘leaps’, all by itself. It provides a tantalising glimpse of what happened to at least one of those pagan Viking warriors who settled in Anglo-Saxon Britain.... (265 words)
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