25th of July - St James Day, St Christophers Day
25th of July is the 206th day of the year
St James Day:
St James, one of the 12 Apostles, is a key figure in the New Testament, witnessing several of the miracles performed by Christ, and with him in the Garden of Gehthsemani. He was the brother of another apostle, John, like him a fisherman, and some traditions have him as the cousin of Jesus. In the Middle Ages thanks to his supposed burial in Compostela (another tradition has him preaching in Spain) that city became a major place of pilgrimage, as to some extent it remains. Churches, shrines and hostels along many routes in France heading to Compostela are decorated with the scallop sign with which he is associated. James was beheaded sometime between 42 and 44AD on the orders of Herod Agrippa. He is patron saint of horsemen and soldiers.
St Christophers Day:
Contrary to the ‘little-known-fact’ that everyone has heard, St Christopher remains a saint, though his is one of the feast days relegated as it were to regional choice rather than universal recognition in the Catholic Church. Just as well given the number of medallions bearing his image, worn by drivers of motorised vehicles the Christian world over. That relates to the story of his life: a giant of a man who had converted to Christianity in the third century, he made his living carrying pilgrims over a river. One day he was helping a child thus, finding the burden becoming almost unbearably heavy – finally to be told by the infant that he was bearing the Lord of the World. The name Christopher means Christ-bearer.
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