July 25th - Feast of St. James the Greater & St. Christopher

The Feast of St. James the Greater is celebrated as a national holiday in Spain.  He is considered the country's patron saint.  Years in which the holiday falls on a Sunday are considered Holy Years and even more celebrations occur.  There are processions through Compostela and La Fachada celebrates with fireworks.  

In England those who could not make the pilgrimage to St. James' shrine gathered seashells, sea glass and pretty stones to construct small shrines in his honor. The seashell has become the symbol of St. James from King Ramirez of Leon's vision of the apostle on a horse adorned with cockleshells, waving a banner.  In England it is customary to eat oysters and in France, scallops.

St. James was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of St. John.  Jesus gave the two the nickname "Sons of Thunder."  During his life St. James traveled to Spain to evangelize. He returned to the Holy Land where he was martyred by Herod Agrippa I ca. 44 A.D.

St. Christopher was remembered with a feast day until 1969 when he was removed from the Roman Catholic calendar.  He has become the patron saint of travelers through the Golden Legend written by Jacobus de Voragine.  In this story St. Christopher helped a child crossing a dangerous river nearly collapsing midstream.  It was only after having reached the far shore that the saint realized that the child was in fact Jesus.  The name Christopher translates as Christ bearer.