A religious observance where people gather together for a meal after some type of service. The Christian calendar has about 3-5 of these a month. There are the biggies like Easter, Pentecost and Christmas, and small ones like the Feast of Saint Columba on June 9 in Ireland and Scotland. In Scotland a small bannock is baked in his honour.

Whose feast day is it, anyway? From www.fiberpipe.net/~holyname/Patrons_Alphabetically.htm: sorted and hardlinked by me.

Mary (Star of the Sea) - no feastday - Navigators, Yachtsmen
Adjutor - no feastday? - Swimmers
David - Old Testament, no feastday - Poets
Mary - January 1 - Motherhood
Genevieve - January 3 - Disasters, Paris
Hilary of Poitiers - January 13 - Protection against Snakes
Kentigern - January 13 - Salmon
Agnes - January 21 - Bodily Purity, Chastity, Engaged Couples, Gardeners, Girl Scouts, Young Girls, Youth (girls)
Anthony, Abbot - January 17 - Domestic Animals
Sebastian - January 20 - Athletes, Cranky Children, Enemies of Religion, Funeral Directors, Gardeners, Hardware, Iron Mongers, Lead Workers, Plague, Potters, Racquet Makers, Soldiers, Swans
Vincent of Zaragoza - January 22 - Winegrowers
Francis de Sales - January 24 - Authors, The Deaf, Journalists, Teachers
Paula - January 26 - Widows
Thomas Aquinas - January 28 - Booksellers, Chastity, Colleges, Learning, Lightening, Pencil Makers, Philosophers, Scholars, Schools, Roman Catholic Schools, Against Storms, Students, Theologians, Universities
Aldegonda - January 30 - Cancer, Breast Cancer, Childhood Diseases, Sudden Death, Protection from Wounds
Sebastian Valfre - January 30 - Inner City Pastors
John Bosco - January 31 - Apprentices, Editors, Youth, Youth(boys)
Bridget - February 1 - Dairy Workers
Blaise - February 3 - Wild Animals, Afflictions of Throat, Wool Combers
Agatha - February 5 - Bellfounders, Volcanic Eruptions, Women’s Breast Diseases
Dorothy - February 6 - Florists
Jerome Emiliani - February 8 - Deserted Children, Orphans
Apollonia - February 9 - Dentists, Toothache
Scholastica - February 10 - Convulsion in Children
Mary (Our Lady of Lourdes) - February 11 - Healing the Sick
Julian the Hospitaller - February 12 - Boatmen, Publicans, Travellers
Valentine - February 14 - Engaged Couples, Greetings, Lovers
Eustathius - February 21 - Family Troubles
Margaret of Cortona - February 22 - Despairing Prostitutes
Polycarp - February 23 - Polycarp (?)
Walburga - February 25 - Famine
Sebastian Aparicio - February 25 - Road Builders
Romanus of Condat - February 28 - Mental Illness
David - March 1 - Dove
Felicity - March 7 - Women wanting sons
Perpetua - March 7 - Cows
John of God - March 8 - Booksellers, Printers, Sick (the sick or vomit?)
Frances of Rome - March 9 - Safe Motoring, Widows
Patrick - March 17 - Ireland, Fear of Snakes, Snakebite, Toothache
Gertrude of Nivelles - March 17 - On behalf of Recently Dead, Good crops, Fear of Mice, Pilgrims, Fear of Rats, Travel, Travelers Find Good Lodgings
Salvator of Orta - March 18 - Shoemakers
Joseph - March 19 - Bursars, Carpenters, Confectioners, Happy Death, Holy Death, Doubt, Doubters, Engineers, Families, Fatherhood, Hesitation, House Hunters, House Sellers, The Desperate, Manual workers(especially carpenters), Married Couples, Pioneers, Travelers, Universal Church
Turibus of Mogrovejo - March 23 - Native Rights
Dismas - March 25 - People Condemned to Death, Funeral Directors, Prisoners under sentence of death, Thieves
Francis of Paola - April 2 - Plague, Safe Seafaring, Sterility
Isidore of Seville - April 4 - Labourers
Vincent Ferrer - April 5 - Construction Workers
John-Baptist de la Salle - April 7 - Teachers of Boys
Zeno of Verona - April 12 - Anglers, Babies
Benedict Joseph Labre - April 16 - Homelessness
Bernadette - April 16 - Shepherds, The Sick
Expeditus - April 19 - Merchants, Navigators, Prompt Solutions
Beuno - April 21 - Sick Children
Theodore of Sykeon - April 22 - Couples Married Unhappily but Reconciling
George - April 23 - Armourers, Boy Scouts, Butchers, Catalonia, Cavalry, Chivalry, England, Genoa, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Saddlers, Skin Diseases, Soldiers, Venice. Not dragons!
Mark - April 25 - Glaziers, Gout, Lawyers, Lions, Prevention of Loss of Faith, Stained Glass Workers
Zita - April 27 - Losing Keys, Maids & Domestic Workers, Maidservants
Catherine of Siena - April 29 - Europe, Protection against Fire, Italy, Leather Workers, Nurses, Philosophers, Scribes, Siena, Spinsters, Stenographers, Tongue
Peregrine - May 1 - Cancer, Skin Disease, Varicose Veins
Joseph the Worker - May 1 - Working men
Antoninus of Florence - May 2 - Fever
Florian - May 4 - Protection against Fire, Firemen, Floods, Linz (Upper Austria), Swimmers
Notkar Balbulus - May 7 - Stammering Children, Musicians
Catald - May 10 - Blindness, Drought, Epilepsy, Hernia, Paralysis, Plague, Against Storms, Taranto
Pancras - May 12 - Children, Cramps, False Witness, Headaches, Perjury
Matthias - May 14 - Alcoholics, Tailors
Isidore the Farmer - May 15 - Farmers
Brendan the Navigator - May 16 - Whales
John of Nepomuk - May 16 - Bohemia, Bridges, Czechoslovakia, Discretion, Floods, Silence, Slander, Running Water
Honoratus - May 16 - Bakers, Confectioners
Madron - May 17 - Cures from Pain
Pascal Baylon - May 17 - Eucharistic Congresses
Dunstan of Canterbury - May 19 - Goldsmiths, Jewellers, Locksmiths
Ivo - May 19 - Brittany, Abandoned Children, Judges, Lawyers, Notaries
Rita - May 22 - Desperate Causes, Healing of Wounds, Infertility, Loneliness, Matrimonial Problems, Parenthood, Tumours
Hubert of Liege - May 30 - Dogs, Rabies in dogs, Trappers
Dympna - May 30 - Possession by Devil, Epilepsy, Family Harmony, Insanity, Mental Illness, Nerves, Sleepwalkers
Ferdinand III of Castile - May 30 - Engineers, Governors, Seville, Magistrates, The Poor, Prisoners, Rulers
Joan of Arc - May 30 - France, Service Women, WACS, WAVES
Justin - June 1 - Apologists, Philosophers
Erasmus - June 2 - Intestinal Disorders
Elmo - June 2 - Appendicitis, Intestinal Troubles, Sailors, Women in Labor, Navigators
Kevin - June 3 - Blackbirds
Boniface - June 5 - Tailors
Medard - June 8 - Bad Weather, Toothache
Columba - June 9 - Poets
Anthony of Padua - June 13 - Amputees, Faith in Blessed Sacrament, Brazil, Protection of Horses, Lost Articles, The Poor, Portugal, Shipwreck, Travelers, Barren Women, Pregnant Women
Vitus - June 15 - Actors, Advocates, Comedians, Dancers, Dog Bites, Epilepsy, Lightning, Snake Bite, Against Storms
Aloysius Gonzaga - June 21 - Teenagers, Youth (boys)
Thomas More - June 22 - Civil Servants, Court Workers, Lawyers
Peter - June 29 - Butchers, The Church, Clock Makers, Fever, Fishermen, Foot Trouble, Frenzy, Longevity, Masons, Net Makers, The Papacy, Ship Builders, Stationers, Wolves
Paul - June 29 - Snakebite
Swithun - July 2 - Drought
Thomas - July 3 - Architects, Blindness, Builders, Masons
Elizabeth of Portugal - July 4 - War
Maria Goretti - July 6 - Youth
Amalliegra - July 10 - Bruises
Benedict of Nursia - July 11 - Coppersmiths, Temptations of the Devil, The Dying, Europe, Farmworkers, Fever, Gall-stones, Kidney Disease, Monastics, Monks, [Nettle[ Rash, Poison, Poisoning, Schoolchildren, Against Witchcraft
Camillus de Lellis - July 14 - The Infirm(Sick), Nurses
Justa & Ruffina - July 17 - Potters, Seville
Aemiliani - July 20 - Plasterers
Margaret of Antioch - July 20 - Birth, Safe Childbirth, Escape from Devil, Divine Protection, The Dying
Mary (Our Lady of Grace) - July 20 - Motorcyclists
Wilgefortis - July 20 - Unhappy Marriages
Victor of Marseilles - July 21 - Cabinet Makers, Lightning
Mary Magdalene - July 22 - Contemplative Life, Repentant Prostitutes, Penitent Sinners
Bridget of Sweden - July 23 - Europe, Healers
Christopher - July 25 - Bachelors, Protection from Sudden Death, Plague, Porters, Storms, Tempest, Safe Travel, Against Water
Clare - July 25 - Embroiderers, Television, TV Writers
James - July 25 - Arthritis, Blacksmiths, Pilgrims, Rheumatism, Tanners, Veterinarians
Anne - July 26 - Cabinet Makers, Grandmothers, Horsemen, Housekeepers, Housewives, Mothers, Pregnancy
Panteleon - July 27 - Consumption
Martha - July 29 - Cooks, Housewives, Innkeepers, Lay Sisters, Servants, Waiters & Waitresses
Neot - July 31 - Fish
Ignatius of Loyola - July 31 - Jesuit Order, Retreats
Alphonsus Liguori - August 1 - Confessors
Friard - August 1 - Fear of wasps
John Vianney - August 4 - Confessors, Priests
Dominic - August 8 - Astronomers
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) - August 9 - Europe
Laurence - August 10 - Armourers, Brewers, Confectioners, Cooks, Cutlers, Protection against Fire, Glaziers, Lumbago, The Poor, Schoolboys, Students, Washerwomen
Alexander the Charcoal Burner - August 11 - Charcoal Burners
Hippolytus - August 13 - Horses
John Berchmans - August 13 - Altar Servers
Maximilian Kolbe - August 14 - Political Imprisonment
Stanislaus Kostka - August 15 - Broken Bones, Dying Without Sacraments
Roque - August 16 - Dog Fanciers, Epidemics, Invalids, Plague
Sebald - August 19 - Bavaria, Cold Weather, Nuremburg
Bernard - August 20 - Alpinists, Mountain Climbers, Skiers, Travelers, in Alps
Rose of Lima - August 23 - Central America, Gardeners, India, Peru, The Phillipines, South America, Vanity
Bartholomew - August 24 - Bookbinders, Butchers, Plasterers, Tanners
Ouen - August 24 - Deafness
Genesius of Arles - August 25 - Actors, Dancers, Epilepsy, Notaries
Genesius the Actor - August 25 - Comedians
Joseph Calasanz - August 25 - Tuition-free Schools
Adrian - August 26 - Butchers, Plague, Soldiers
Miriam Baourdy - August 26 - Peace in the Near East
Monica - August 27 - Families, Mothers, Wives
Augustine - August 28 - Brewers, Sore Eyes, Printers, Theologians
John the Baptist - August 29 - Baptism, Knights Hospitaller, Lambs, Monastic Life, Car Travel
Fiacre - August 30 - Cab Drivers, Gardeners, Hemorrhoids, Hosiers, Sufferers from Venereal Disease
Raymond Nonnatus - August 31 - Childbirth, Children, Infants, Innocent People Falsely Accused, Pregnant Women, Midwives, Obstetricians
Joseph of Arimathea - August 31 - Funeral Directors, Tinworkers
Giles - September 1 - Beggars, Blacksmiths, Breastfeeding, Cancer, Edinburgh, Epilepsy, Insanity, The Physically Disabled, Sterility, Sterility in Women, Terrors of Night, Woods
Agricola of Avignon - September 2 - Good Weather, Misfortune, Plague, Rain
Gregory the Great - September 3 - Plague, Singers
Gratus of Aosta - September 7 - Fear of Insects
Peter Claver - September 9 - Missions to Native Africans, Slavery
Nicholas of Tolentino - September 10 - The Dying, Infants, Mothers & newborns, Souls in Purgatory
Guy of Anderlecht - September 12 - Protection Against Dogs, Epilepsy, Rabies
John Chrysostom - September 13 - Orators
Lambert of Maastricht - September 17 - Surgeons
Joseph of Copertino - September 18 - Astronauts, Pilots
Januarius - September 19 - Naples, Volcanic Eruptions
Eustace - September 20 - Difficult situations, Hunters
Cadoc - September 21 - Glandular Disorders
Matthew - September 21 - Accountants, Bankers, Customs Officers, Security Guards, Stock Brokers, Tax Men
Phocas of Sinope - September 22 - Farmers, Market Gardeners, Sailors
Maurice - September 22 - Cramps, Dyers, Soldiers, Weavers
Cosmas & Damian - September 26 - Barbers, Chemical Industry, Druggists, Hairdressers, Hernia, Pestilence, Physicians, Surgeons
Vincent de Paul - September 27 - Charitable Giving, Charity, Hospital Workers, Hospitals, Lepers, Prisoners, Spiritual Help
Wenceslas - September 28 - Bohemia, Brewers, Czechoslovakia, Moravia
Raphael - September 29 - Airline Travel, The Blind, Druggists, Eye Diseases, Lovers, Sheep Raisers
Michael the Archangel - September 29 - Battle, The Dying, Grocers, Paratroopers, Peril at Sea, Policemen, Radiologists, Radiotherapists, Security Forces, Supermarket Workers, Temptation
Gabriel the Archangel - September 29 - Diplomats, Messengers, Postal Employees, Postal Services, Radio, Stamp Collectors, Telecommunications, Television
Jerome - September 30 - Deserted Children, Librarians, Orphans, Students
Therese of Lisieux - October 1 - Florists, Flower Growers, France, Missionaries, Missions, Tuberculosis
Francis of Assisi - October 4 - Animal Welfare Societies, Animals, Birds, Solitary Death, Ecologists, Italy, Lace Makers, Merchants, Needle Workers
Faith - October 6 - Pilgrims, Prisoners, Soldiers
Denis the Areopagite - October 9 - Headaches
Gereon - October 10 - Headaches, Migraine
Francis Borgia - October 10 - Earthquakes
Gerard Majella - October 16 - People Falsely Accused, Mothers in Difficult Births, Expectant Mothers, Pregnancy
Gall - October 16 - Birds
Ignatius of Antioch - October 17 - Sore Throats
Luke - October 18 - Artists, Glass Industry, Goldsmiths, Jewelers, Painters, Physicians, Sculptors, Surgeons
Ursula & Companions - October 21 - Teachers of Girls
Crispin & Crispinian - October 25 - Shoemakers
Jude - October 28 - Desperation, Impossible Situations, Lost Causes
Quentin - October 31 - Coughs
Wolfgang of Regensburg - October 31 - Stomach Troubles
Martin de Porres - November 3 - Blacks (African Americans), Public Education, Public Health, People of Mixed Race, Racial Harmony, The Sick Poor, Social Justice, Television
Hubert - November 3 - Archers, Dog Bites, Hunters, Machinists, Mathematicians (no, that's Hilbert space)
Charles Borremeo - November 4 - Seminarians, Clergy, Spiritual Directors, Ulcers
Kea - November 5 - Toothache
Leonard of Noblac - November 6 - Childbirth, Imprisonment, Protection from Robbers
Nicostratus - November 8 - Stone Masons
Simpronian - November 8 - Stone masons
Castorius - November 8 - Stone masons
Claudius - November 8 - Stone masons
Andrew Avellino - November 10 - Protection from Sudden Death, Protection from Stroke(Apoplexy)
Martin of Tours - November 11 - Beggars, Geese, Horsemen, Horses, Impoverishment, Infantry, Riders, Soldiers, Winegrowers
Homobonus - November 13 - Business People, Clothworkers, Tailors
Brice - November 13 - Stomach Disorders
Albert the Great - November 15 - Philosophers, Scientists
Margaret of Scotland - November 16 - Scotland
Hugh of Lincoln - November 17 - Swans
Juan de Castillo - November 17 - Native Traditions
Alonso Rodriguez - November 17 - Native Traditions
Rocco Gonzalez - November 17 - Native Traditions
Gregory the Wonderworker - November 17 - Earthquake, Floods
Elizabeth of Hungary - November 19 - Bakers
Edmund of East Anglia - November 20 - Wolves
Cecilia - November 22 - Composers, Musicians, Throat, Vocalists
Clement - November 23 - Boatmen, Sick Children
Columban (Columbanus) - November 23 - Floods
Catherine of Alexandria - November 25 - The Dying, Young Girls, Millers, Philosophers, Spinners, Wheelwrights
Andrew - November 30 - Fish Dealers, Fishermen, Gout, Old Maids, Russia, Scotland, Women Who Want to Become Pregnant
Eligius - December 1 - Steelworkers
Eloi - December 1 - Blacksmiths, Goldsmiths, Jewelers
Bibiana - December 2 - Epilepsy, Hangovers, Headaches
Francis Xavier - December 3 - Missioners, Winemakers
Barbara - December 4 - Architects, Artillery, Brass Workers, Builders, Carpenters, Protection from Sudden Death, Fire, Firemen, Fireworks, Gunners, Lightening, Lightening Storms, Mathematicians, Miners, Storms, Thunder Storms
Osmund - December 4 - Madness, Paralysis, Against Rupture, Toothache
Nicholas - December 6 - Apothecaries, Children, Unmarried Girls, Merchants, Pawnbrokers, Russia, Sailors, Travelers, Youth(girls)
Ambrose - December 7 - Domestic Animals, Bees
Mary (Immaculate Conception) - December 8 - National Council of Catholic Women, United States
Liborius Wagner - December 9 - Christian Unity, Ecumenism
Mary (Our Lady of Loretto) - December 10 - Flyers, Home Builders, Lamp Makers
Eulalia - December 10 - Drought
Mary (Our Lady of Guadalupe) - December 12 - Western Hemisphere
Lucy - December 13 - Blindness, Cutlers, Eye Conditions, Glaziers, Hemorrhage, Peasants, Peddlers, Saddlers, Sweden, Throat, Infections
Servulus - December 23 - Paralylsis
Adam - December 24 - Gardeners
Stephen - December 26 - Bricklayers, Deacons, Headaches
Denis (Dionysius) - December 26 - Headaches
John the Evangelist - December 27 - Art Dealers, Book Sellers, Compositors, Engravers, Lithographers, Paper Makers, Poisoning, Printers, Publishers, Theologians, Writers

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