August 24: Bartlemas

St. Bartholomew’s Fair, held in London for over 700 years, was one of the biggest historical celebrations marking this day; it was filled with vendors, entertainment, mystery plays, and aromatic St. Bart gingerbread cookies.

Elsewhere in England – in Sandwich, where a chapel was dedicated to St. Bartholomew in 1217 AD at the local hospital – a “Bun Run” is held every Bartlemas; children race around the chapel and receive a currant bun when they finish (and adults receive a St. Bart’s biscuit). This tradition mimics the dole – bread, cheese, and beer – given to pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

In Rome, the Basilica of St. Bartholomew was host to a Watermelon Festival on Bartlemas, since watermelon are plentiful at that time; this spread to Spain, where children in Majorca made lanterns out of watermelon for Bartlemas.

Dating back to 1443, a Shepherd’s Race is held on Bartlemas in Markgröningen, Germany. There are shepherding contests and a barefoot race, with the winner receiving a flower-crowned sheep.

It’s traditional to harvest honey on Bartlemas. St. Bartholomew came to be associated with honey, beekeepers, and mead – there is still a church (at Gulval, in Cornwall) in which they bless mead on Bartlemas!

St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of bookbinders; a bookbinder employee holiday called a Wayzgoose was held on his feast day.