St. Lawrence Day (10/08)

Every year, on the night of August 10-11, Italians direct their eyes, full of hope, into the sky to see a falling star. Since ancient times, this night commemorates the suffering of Saint Lawrence, and the rain of stars represents the pouring tears of the saint during unbearable bodily torture. The stars wander through the heavens forever and descend to earth only on the day Laurentius died, creating an atmosphere of magic and miracles...

Saint Lawrence was one of seven deacons of ancient Rome who were subjected to painful torture and religious persecution on the orders of the Roman Emperor Valerian in 258. During his reign, it was forbidden to organize meetings and meetings of Christian believers, as well as to show disrespect for the rituals and traditions of the pagans. Many priests and bishops were sentenced to death, and Christians related to the nobility or parliament were deprived of their property and expelled.

Saint Lawrence worked closely with Pope Sixtus II, the first victim of the emperor's persecution, helped him prepare for various rituals, was responsible for the property of the church, and also cared for the poor. After the death of the Pope, the Prefect of Rome demanded that Laurentius give him all the riches and treasures of the church in three days. Without delay, Laurentius organized the distribution of church property among the poor to prevent unjust seizure.

On the third day, at the head of a small delegation, he came to a meeting with the prefect and, when ordered to give up all the property, Lawrence provided him with a poor man, lame, blind, suffering, and said that they were a real treasure and wealth of the church. This act of open defiance was immediately followed by severe torture.

It is believed that on the night of St. Lawrence the wishes of all those who remembered the suffering of the holy martyr may be fulfilled. With each shooting star, it is said: «Star, my star, I wish...», and then, within a year, the wish is expected to be fulfilled.

According to popular tradition, falling stars are also called St. Lawrence lights, because sparks emanating from the hot grille on which the martyr was killed flew into the sky. However, it is not known exactly how St. Lawrence died: according to one version, he was burned alive, according to another, he was beheaded, like Pope Sixtus II. His body was buried in Rome on Tiburtina Street, and after some time Emperor Constantine I built a small chapel in his honor on the grave.

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