St. Mark's Day definition of St. Mark's Day in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

St. Mark's Day

April 25

Although he is often assumed to be one of the Apostles, Mark was much too young at the time to be more than a follower of Jesus. He is known primarily as the author of one of the four Gospels, which biblical scholars believe is based on what he learned from his close friend and traveling companion, St. Peter. St. Mark the Evangelist is also associated with Venice, Italy, where the church bearing his name was built over the place where his relics were taken in 815.
In England, it was believed that if you kept a vigil on the church porch from 11 o'clock on St. Mark's Eve until one o'clock in the morning, you would see the ghosts of all those who would die in the coming year as they walked up the path and entered the church. Young girls believed that if they left a flower on the church porch during the day and returned for it at midnight, they would see a wedding procession, including an apparition of their future husband, as they walked home. Because it involved an all-night vigil, St. Mark's Day eventually came to be associated with various forms of licentious behavior, which is why the parochial clergy in the Middle Ages decided that the day should be one of abstinence.

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 314
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 549
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 101
DictDays-1988, p. 104
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 98
OxYear-1999, pp. 170, 172

Celebration day: Apr 25

Celebrated in: Hungary

St. Mark's Day (Hungary)

April 25

In Hungary, St. Mark's Day is also known as Buza-Szentelo or the Blessing of the Wheat, during which people follow their priest or minister in a procession to the wheat fields where the crop is blessed. They return to the village carrying spears of the blessed wheat, which some believe has healing powers. The fields are again blessed when harvesting begins on June 29, Sts. Peter and Paul Day.

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No references found			com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040426/NYM245-b ) The naming ceremony took place on the "Festa del Boccolo," or St. Holland America Line Names ms Westerdam in Venice on Sunday, April 25 by PR Newswire			St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke St. John, John Pierce St. John, Oliver St. Johns St. Joseph St. Joseph's Day St. Jude's Day St. Kitts and Nevis St. Kitts and Nevis Independence Day St. Kitts and Nevis National Heroes Day St. Knut's Day St. Laurent, Louis Stephen St. Lawrence Island St. Lawrence River St. Lawrence, Gulf of St. Lazarus's Day St. Leger, Barry St. Leopold's Day St. Louis St. Lucia St. Lucia Independence Day St. Lucy's Day St. Malo St. Malo, Gulf of St. Marinus Day St. Mark's Day St. Maron's Day St. Martha's Day St. Martin St. Martin's Carnival St. Martin's Day St. Martin's Eve St. Mary's County Oyster Festival St. Marys St. Matthias's Day St. Maur-des-Fosses St. Maur-des-Fossés St. Medardus's Day St. Mennas's Day St. Michael's Day St. Mihiel, Battle of 1918 St. Modesto's Day St. Nazaire St. Nicholas's Day St. Olav's Day St. Patrick's Day St. Patrick's Day Encampment St. Patrick's Day Parade St. Paul St. Paul Winter Carnival St. Peter's Day			St. Lucy's Day St. Luke St. Luke School of Medicine St. Luke's College of Nursing St. Luke's Gospel St. Luke's Medical Center St. Luke's Regional Medical Center St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital Center St. Maarten St. Maarten St. Maarten Timeshare Association St. Maarten Yacht Club St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles St. Malo St. Malo St. Malo, France St. Malo, France St. Malo, Gulf of St. Margaret's Secondary School St. Maria Goretti St. Marie's St. Marie's College St. Maries St. Marinus Day St. Mark St. Mark's Church St. Mark's Day St. Mark's High School St. Mark's School of Texas Lacrosse Team St. Mark's Secondary School St. Marks Hospital St. Maron's Day St. Marteen St. Marteen St. Martha's Day St. Martin St. Martin St. Martin de Porres St. Martín de Porres St. Martin Middle School St. Martin of Tours St. Martin of Tours School St. Martin Parish, Louisiana St. Martin's St. Martin's Carnival St. Martin's Day St. Martin's Day St. Martin's Eve St. Martin, Alexis St. Martin’s Hospitality Center St. Martins Episcopal School St. Martinus