02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor

SAINTS IN THE MODERN ERA
properties.When the relics were translated to Bari by Italian
sailors, they apparently continued to do so. It is for this reason
that St Nicholas is also the patron saint of perfumiers.
In the low countries of Europe it became traditional for
sailors to give gifts on 6 December, the feast day of St
Nicholas, their patron saint. Because of the story of his resurrection
of the three murdered boys and because of his reputation
for giving gifts derived from the story of the three girls
and their dowries, St Nicholas was also regarded as the patron
saint of children.Thus, it also became traditional to give gifts
to children on his feast day. These elements of the cult of St
Nicholas later became intertwined with earlier pre-Christian
traditions and particularly stories and legends relating to the
Norse god Odin. These folk traditions were carried to
America by Dutch Protestants who settled in New
Amsterdam and who referred to St Nicholas as ‘Sinterklaas’.
Over time, the legends associated with St Nicholas arrived in
Britain where he became known as Father Christmas.
StValentine
Today StValentine’s Day, for most people, is synonymous with
the concepts of love, romance and courtship. It is a day on
which lovers send one another valentine’s cards and exchange
gifts and, in modern times, it has become an increasingly
commercialised event. Historically, it became an opportunity
for the mass production of valentine’s cards, particularly in
America during the mid-nineteenth century. Like many other
aspects of the cults of the saints, it has become an integral,
perhaps unquestioned aspect of daily life and has become an
accepted part of western culture and traditions. However, the
origin of St Valentine’s Day is a particularly obscure and tan-
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