People used to light fires on hilltops on St Blaize’s day, it seems only because his name sounded like a blaze, and country folk would burn things of some value rather than go without one. Women went about all day in an idle merry humour, and if they found a neighbour spinning they felt free to set her distaff alight. In Catholic England a charm in the saint’s name was believed to draw a thorn out of the flesh or move a bone stuck in the throat.
St Blaize’s Fires and Charm
3 February
No longer kept
Apparently for no better reason than the sound of the venerated prelate's name, it was customary to light fires on this day, or evening, on hill-tops or other conspicuous places.
From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 1, pp. 219-220. Read the original
Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks
We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.
Questions and comments