Red Letter Day

Although nowadays this expression can denote any special day, it originally referred to saints' feast days, which were marked in church calendars in red ink. (The Church also used red ink in certain parts of the liturgy, which result in our English word "rubric" from Lat. ruber meaning "red.") I mention all this not to bore you with ecclesial etymologies but to inform you that today in my red letter day. Strike up the band: November 30 is the Feast of St. Andrew!

This day never struck me as very special until I was studying abroad in Rome, and the director of my program, whose name was Franco, suggested I go to the Church of Sant'Andrea for the feast day. I decided to go and was expecting a great celebration, but in fact there was nothing especially grand about mass: we in the pews were soggy from rain and took up only a tiny fraction of the cavernous church, and most of the interior was covered in scaffolding as part of the pre-Jubilee 2000 facelift that was happening all over Rome. Fortunately, the Argentinian cardinal who presided rose to the occasion. And how! It looked like he had put on every vestment in the sacristy, then hung his Olympic-sized medallion over the layers like a paperweight. Over the top? Yes! But someone had to dress up, and it might as well be the cardinal.

The mass itself also left an impression on me. That semester was my first time away from home: I had missed Thanksgiving and was also going to miss Christmas that year. Besides this homesickness, I could also feel the stress over my final exams mounting. That hour at Sant'Andrea, however, lifted both worries, not permanently of course but long enough to be a comfort. Since then I've always remembered the day of my namesake. Later when I was at Weston I had a classmate who was learning how to make icons, and she agreed to make one for me of St. Andrew, which Emily and I now have in the house:

I'm happy to say that just this morning I learned a little more about the feast of St. Andrew around the world. Here at the Albright there are two scholars from eastern Europe: Ivan from Bulgaria and Teodozja from Poland. When I saw them this morning, they asked me if I knew that today was my feastday and I said Yes. Then they explained that St. Andrew is a major celebration in their countries. Ivan said it is called Mechkin den in Bulgaria, which means "Bear Day," because there are several legends involving St. Andrew harnessing and riding a bear like a horse.

Teodozja told me that in Poland the eve of St. Andrew's day is a night of foretelling, especially for unmarried women. They usually gather and take turns dripping candlewax into a glass of water until it has hardened into a design on the surface. Each young woman takes out her wax and holds it up to the light so that its shadow is cast on the wall. Then everyone offers an interpretation: some see the shape of a wedding ring, others see coins of future wealth, etc. Another tradition in Poland is for all the unmarried women to line up their shoes heel-to-toe across a room; the first to touch the far wall will be the first to get married. Unfortunately, there are no bears involved in the Polish customs.

Happy St. Andrew's Day, everyone!