Happy St Clement’s & Saint Catherine’s Days (23rd November & 25th November)
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By Ann | 22 Nov 2017 16:00:00 |
Doubly Blessed be the Hat Makers!
St. Clement, who is commemorated on November 23rd. He was probably the third Bishop of Rome (AD91). He is the patron saint of felt makers and hatters. Tradition says, St. Clement, forced to flee from his native city, was worn out by constant tramping. His feet were badly cut and blistered and he sought a remedy by collecting bits of wool clinging to the bushes, and placing them in his sandals. After a day's journey he found that pressure and warmth had united the wool into a firm substance. When he reached Rome he perfected the process and manufactured felt, similar to that which we use to make our hats today.
The celebration of the patron saint of millinery and couture, Catherine of Alexandria is held on the 25th of November Legend has it that Catherine was born in Alexandria around 290 AD and died in 307 AD. She was of remarkable intelligence and converted to Christianity. Catherine tried to convert the Roman Emperor Maxentius when he visited Alexandria. Furious, he set her the task of debating with 50 philosophers. She managed to convert them, so Maxentius had them all killed.
The emperor then proposed to marry Catherine but she refused, declaring that she was already married to Jesus in some sort of mystic ceremony. The humiliated Maxentius ordered her to be tortured on a spiked wheel (the origins of the Catherine wheel firework) but it fell apart, so he had her beheaded. The veneration of St. Catherine spread only after the Crusades and Catherine was named the patron saint of unmarried women nine centuries later. So Since the Middle Ages, single girls have been under the protection of Saint Catherine
The tradition was (mainly in France) that single women, under the age of 25, gathered each year to create a beautiful headdress to "cap" St. Catherine's statue on her feast day. Those girls of twenty-five years + who were still unmarried by this day were known as ‘Catherinettes'. Pilgrimages were made to St. Catherine's statue asking her to intercede in finding husbands for the unmarried lest they "don St. Catherine's bonnet" and become spinsters.
This custom progressively died out, with the exception of the hat making and dressmaking trades.
So now for the fun bit!
Friends of, and Catherinettes make hats using the traditional colours of yellow (faith) and green (wisdom). Often outrageous these must be worn for the day.
What an excuse for a parade and a ball! No wonder the day has been revived by Fashion Houses and Milliners around the world. (search St. Catherines Day, Stephen Jones and Dior)
Here's a really fun film of a Catherinettes' Ball circa 1930's
Here's some hilarious St Catherine's Day quotes:
The French say that before a girl reaches 25, she prays: "Donnez-moi, Seigneur, un mari de bon lieu! Qu'il soit doux, opulent, libéral et agréable!" (Lord, give me a well-situated husband. Let him be gentle, rich, generous, and pleasant!")
After 25, she prays: "Seigneur, un qui soit supportable, ou qui, parmi le monde, au moins puisse passer!" (Lord, one who's bearable, or who can at least pass as bearable in the world!")
And when she's pushing 30: "Un tel qu'il te plaira Seigneur, je m'en contente!" ("Send whatever you want, Lord; I'll take it!"). An English version goes, St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And grant that I never may die an old maid.
So hat makers and milliners, enjoy your special feast days!
