Primrose Day

Chapter 6

Primrose Day, or the Feast of St. Agatha, celebrates one of the most famous virgin martyrs in Christianity: St. Agatha. The story goes that Agatha had devoted her life to God and sworn to be a virgin at a young age. Therefore, she would continually rebuff the advances of a Roman prefect who was sent to govern Sicily by the emperor Decius. This prefect viewed this as an insult to him and sentenced her to be burned at the stake for her faith, torturing her and cutting off her breasts. This is reflected in statues of her, such as the one in the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Many of the people protested against her burning at the stake, but to no avail, however, an earthquake occurred when the attempt was made and Agatha was sent back to prison, where she sadly perished in what is believed to be 251 C.E.

St. Agatha is now known as a patron to rape victims, torture victims, nurses, and natural disasters. She is an inspiration for keeping her faith and staying true to herself even under such horrific brutality.

So, how may you honour this brave saint?

Most people celebrate St. Agatha by lighting a candle. A traditional superstition is that the candle must be as tall as the person praying for protection, however, any regular candle will likely work.

Red primroses are symbolic of her. This is why the Feast of St. Agatha is also called Primrose Day.

Other ways of celebrating that I have thought of include:

Religious ceremonies. Of course, this is largely traditional, but I’d highly encourage it if you are a Christian. There are usually specific ceremonies to celebrate St. Agatha.

Make a flower crown. Just a fun activity might be to create a flower crown of primrose of various colours to celebrate St. Agatha.

Donate to a charity. There are probably hundreds of charities that are dedicated to helping rape victims, breast cancer victims, torture victims, etc. Donate to recognise St. Agatha’s patronage and help women in terrible situations.

Visit or paint a piece of art. It doesn’t have to be fancy. There’s a multitude of art online for St. Agatha, and you can check if any museums or galleries around you have Christian artworks of saints as well. You could even paint or draw a piece of art of her or something related to her patronage. A common motif in her religious art are breasts on a plate as hers were cut off, primroses, or even a nurse’s costume.

Enjoy Primrose Day/The Feast of St Agatha. I pray that all the victims around the world escape their fates 🌺

Written by Sara Rowan.
Edited by Marietta Oizys.
Proofread by Daphne Clarke.