Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,899,531,896 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

St. Cecilia's Day

    0.01 sec.
St. Cecilia's Day
November 22
Not much can be said with confidence about St. Cecilia's life. According to her apocryphal acts, which date from the fifth century, she was a Roman from a noble family who was put to death in the second or third century for her Christian beliefs. How she became the patron saint of music and musicians is not exactly known, but according to legend she played the harp so beautifully that an angel left heaven to come down and listen to her. In any case, the Academy of Music in Rome accepted her as its patron when it was established in 1584.
In 1683, a musical society was formed in London especially for the celebration of St. Cecilia's Day. It held a festival each year at which a special ode was sung. The poet John Dryden composed his "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" in 1687 for this purpose. By the end of the 17th century it was customary to hold concerts on November 22 in St. Cecilia's honor—a practice which has faded over the years, but there are still many choirs and musical societies that bear her name.
SOURCES:
AnnivHol-2000, p. 195
BkDays-1864, vol. II, p. 604
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 293
DictDays-1988, p. 101
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 447
OxYear-1999, p. 470
SaintFestCh-1904, p. 494

Celebration day: Nov 22



Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
An all-Handel celebration of concerti and the An Ode for St.
This chapter ends with a reading of "Eolian Harp," which has Kneale double-clicking all over the place to establish links between "Eolian Harp" and Genesis, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lycidas, Thomson's Castle of Indolence, William Collins' "The Passions: An Ode for Music," Dryden's "Song for St.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.