Bartholomew Fair

Bartholomew Fair

August 24

Although St. Bartholomew's Day isn't really celebrated anymore, for more than 700 years (1133-1855) it was the day on which the Bartholomew Fair was held at Smithfield on the outskirts of London. What began as an opportunity for buying and selling cloth eventually turned into a major event. Almost every type of commodity could be purchased there, and a number of sideshows and other crude sources of entertainment were available as well—earning the Fair its present-day reputation as "the Coney Island of medieval England."
Eventually the entertainment aspects of the Fair outweighed its commercial purposes, and although it was very much a part of English life there was a movement to close it down. In 1822, thousands of people rioted in protest against the threat of closing the Fair. But finally, in 1855, it was permanently abolished.
St. Bartholomew's Day is also known for the massacre of the Huguenots (Protestants) in France, which began at the instigation of Catherine de Medici in Paris on the night of August 23-24, 1572, and spread throughout the country for two more days until between 5,000 and 10,000 had been killed.

SOURCES:
BkDays-1864, vol. II, p. 264
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 217
DictDays-1988, p. 9
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 176
OxYear-1999, pp. 343, 344

Celebration day: Aug 24