Thursday, January 22, 2009

Feast of St. Vincent

Raise a glass of wine today and celebrate the Feast of St. Vincent of Zaragoza, patron saint of wine growers and wine makers. This Spanish saint, also known as Vincent the Deacon, Vincent Tourante, and Vincent of Aragon, is the earliest known Spanish martyr. He was eventually imprisoned, tortured and martyred in Valencia in 304 A.D.

Allegedly, the governor Dacian was persecuting Christians, trying to eliminate the religion from his lands. Vincent, his bishop Valerius, and some other priests were apprehended. The bishop had a speech impedient so Vincent acted as their spokesman being bold and unrepentent. This only angered Dacian even more, so he had Vincent horribly tortured and eventually killed. There is a legend that his dead body was tossed into a bog to be eaten by wild animals. But, a raven protected the corpse from being eaten by any animal.

It is thought that Vincent became patron of wine growers and makers more due to the symbolic echo of his name rather than anything he did wine related. In the villages of Burgundy, on the Feast Day, they carry a statue of Vincent for a tour of the village, ending at the church. After Mass, the statue would be taken to a family of wine growers to keep it safe for the year.

Do you do anything to commemorate the feast day of Saint Vincent?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your blog and cheers to St. Vincent.

Your blog is what I hope my blog can some day grow up to be.

I am the Communications Manager for Little Hills Winery in Saint Charles, Missouri. A lot of people are surprised to find out how many great wineries there are in Missouri and to find out how many Missouri Wine Lovers there are.

Please take some time to visit and comment on my blog at http://littlehillswinery.blogspot.com

I have had your blog listed in my blog roll for some time now and like I said I enjoy reading your postings often.

Richard Auffrey said...

Thanks very much Scott for your kind words and I am glad you have enjoyed my blog. If I ever get to Missouri, I will be sure to check out their wines.

braingirl said...

Attending a Chevalier de Tastevin paulee (feast luncheon) in the Burgundian style complete with a short parade in honor of St. Vincent.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh..... a little late posting on this one (like EIGHT months late), but I couldn't resist.

St. Vincent of Saragossa (San Vicente de Zaragoza) is my personal patron saint of nearly 8 years beginning in my Anglican days. He was my confirmation saint when I became a Catholic. (My confirmation name is "Vicenta.") So January 22 is my patronal feast day, and in a sense, my (confirmation) nameday.

So here's SOME of the St. Vincent's Day traditions I have:

**Dress in red
**If possible, take day off from work.
**Mass. (Vincent's feast is an optional memorial, plus it is an unrelated day of penance in the U.S., so the readings and homily may or may not have anything to do with St. Vincent's Day.)
**Pray the Liturgy of the Hours using the readings and prayers for Vincent's memorial.
**Dinner in a Spanish restaurant, or make a Spanish dish (NOTE: Spanish, NOT Mexican)
**And yes, since Vincent is patron of winemakers, a tour of nearby Delaney Vineyards (about 5 miles away).

Salvador Raga said...

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http://viavicentius.blogspot.com
http://www.caminodesanvicentemartir.es

Salvador Raga
President

Very complete web about pilgrim way from Huesca to Valencia for walkers and cyclists of Saint Vincent of Saragossa as a very important saint in Spain in fourth century, developed by Via Vicentius . It includes maps , history , images and many interesting informations concerning to the martyr saint.