Pulling the Devil's Nose

Today is the Feast of St Dunstan - the saint who seized the devil by the nose with a pair of red hot tongs! Having put a Facebook status about him on the wrong date (two months ago) I was going to correct my mistake on FB today, but found Dunstan so interesting I will write about him here instead.

Briefly, he was a 10th century monk who became Abbot of Glastonbury and Archbishop of Canterbury. A skilled musician, manuscript writer and metal worker, he is invoked invoked by jewellers, goldsmiths, locksmiths and blacksmiths. Until 1975, in honour of St Dunstan, May 19 was the yearly changeover date for hallmarks on gold and silver. According to legend the devil appeared as he was making a golden chalice for the church. Refusing to be tempted, Dunstan seized Satan by the nose with his red hot metal-working tongs.

There's even an old rhyme about the meeting, quoted in John Vince's Discovering Saints in Britain:

"Saint Dunstan so the story goes

Once pulled the devil by the nose

With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,

That he was heard three miles or more."

I'm fascinated by the tales of the saints, and by anniversaries of historic events, and I like to find ways of mark these occasions - but I don't recommend this particular action of Dunstan's, even with people you don't like! Instead you could celebrate his life by buying or wearing some jewellery (it doesn't have to be expensive, brightly coloured beads and bangles will do), listening to your favourite music or reading a beautifully illustrated book. Or you could do all three. Failing that, cakes and wine are always good for feasting - or simply sit and reflect about life, the universe and everything while enjoying a cup of tea and  biscuit.

Surprisingly, St Dunstan has no connections with the blind. The charity of that name, which supports blinded and visually impaired ex-service personnel (find out more at http://www.st-dunstans.org.uk/index.html) took its title from an early location, St Dunstan's Lodge, in Regent's Park - and the house only got its name because the original owner installed a large clock in the grounds, which he bought from a church called St Dunstan's (or, more correctly, St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street, London).  So it was pure chance that led to the adoption of Dunstan's name by the organisation, and it's chosen patron saint is actually Odilia, who was born in France in the seventh century. Because she was blind her father wanted her killed, but she was given to a peasant, and later miraculously gained her sight when she was baptised by a bishop.

Oh dear, I seem to have gone off on a detour again, but that's what so fascinating about reading: you end up travelling in other directions when something catches your interest and you want more information. Anyway, back to St Dunstan. Under his leadership Glastonbury became a centre of learning, while as Archbishop of Canterbury he revived and reformed the church, spearheading the rebuilding of religious buildings destroyed by Danish invader and encouraging monks to acquire skills which would enable help recreate their monasteries. More importantly, he restored discipline by insisting clergy lived according to their vows and that monks followed the Rule of St Benedict. Fostering the growth of education was always important to him and he eventually retired from his role as Archbishop, but continued to teach.

For many years he was one of the most important English saints, and his shrine at Canterbury Cathedral was an important place of pilgrimage.

It's Pancake Day!

TODAY is Shrove Tuesday - better known as Pancake Day - which is the day before the start of Lent, when Medieval Christians used to make their pre-Lenten confessions, or 'shrifts' (from which the day takes its name) and could then be shriven, which means they received absolution for their sins. It was the feast before the fast, a day of feasting when people sized the chance to eat any luxury food that was still left before the Lenten fasting period kicked in, so things like eggs were mixed flour and turned into pancakes, a tradition which continues to this day in many parts of Europe.

Fairs and carnivals, like the Mardi Gras, are still held in many place, while some also stage pancake races and Shrove Tuesday Ball Games, like the ones held at Atherstone, in Warwickhire, or Ashbourne in Derbyshire. The Atherstone game has few rules, and involves teams scrambling for the ball as the mass of bodies surges up and down the main street. Whoever is left holding the specially-made ball when the final klaxon sounds is the winner, and is accorded iconic status by the townsfolk.

The game has been held every year since King John offered a bag of gold to the victors in a match between the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads but, according to local historian John Austin it may owe its origins to the camp football played by Roman soldiers at nearby Mancetter.

Shrove Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter Sunday, and Lent - the run-up to Easter - represents the 40 days Jesus spent in the wildnerness (but Sundays are not counted). Traditionally, Christians marked Lent with sprayer, fasting and almsgiving, and many people still follow this custom by giving up something they enjoy during this period, whether it is a personal choice to abstain from chocolate, or a community decision to hold events like Lenten Lunches, which make us think those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

You may not be a Christian. You may not be religious. But it is always good to puse and reflect on life, and Lent is a good a time to think about the world and your place in it. However, the emphasis of Lenten traditions seems somehow to be on the negative, rather than the positive; they are about 'not doing' rather than 'doing'. Perhaps, instead of using it as a period of abstention we should think more about how to improve the quality of life, for ourselves and far others. Something as simple as smiling at someone you pass in the street, or thanking a bus driver or shop assistant could make their day better.

Christian Aid, which runs its main fund-raising campaign during Lent, is urging us all Count Your Blessings and has drawn up a list of daily actions which will not only make you do that, but will also help provide practical assistance for those in need. The charity is using modern technology to get the message across - there is a website at http://www.christianaid.org.uk/ and a pdf showing what you can do to help at (http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/cyb-main-resource.pdf) In addition you can follow the Count Your Blessings journey and read about the daily actions on Twitter, by going to twitter.com/Christian_Aid and searching for#cyblessings.

*The picture is from the BBC ood Food website (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/features/shrove-tuesday/1/) which has some lovely recipes, and really clear instructions on how to make pancakes.