25th July: Saint Christopher

25 July is the feast day of St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers. Here are ten facts about the saint:

1. The name Christopher means "Christ-bearer" which is a title easily applied to any devout Christian, so there is some dispute as to whether Saint Christopher actually existed or whether the name was applied to any number of different people.
2. One person historians have said may be one and the same as Saint Christopher is Saint Menas, an Egyptian soldier, whose story has several parallels with the legend of Saint Christopher.
3. Assuming he did exist, Saint Christopher's story is as follows. He was a big, strong man - 5 cubits (7.5 feet (2.3m)) tall. He started his career serving the king of Canaan, his native land, but got the idea that he wanted to serve the greatest king there was. So he left his job and sought out the human king reputed to be the greatest. Christopher soon found out this king was afraid of the Devil, so Christopher decided the Devil must be greater and went looking for him. He found someone who claimed to be the Devil and served him, until he saw the man flinch at the sight of a cross by the side of the road. Christopher knew then that he needed to find Christ and serve him.
4. After receiving Christian instruction from a hermit, it was suggested to Christopher that to serve Christ he must live a life of fasting and prayer, which did not suit Christopher at all. So the hermit came up with a better idea, more suited to a man of Christopher's size and strength. There was a dangerous river nearby that many people died attempting to cross. The hermit reckoned it would be a pleasing service to Christ for the strong man to carry people safely across. So that is exactly what Christopher did. One day, a small child came to him and asked to be carried across the river. The river was particularly swollen that day and the crossing more treacherous than usual. Not only that, but the child seemed incredibly heavy and even Christopher struggled. They made it to the other side whereupon Christopher commented about how heavy the child had seemed. The child replied: "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." Then he vanished.
5. There is a very similar story concerning Jason of Argonauts fame, who once carried an old woman across a river. The woman was much heavier than she should have been, and turned out to be the goddess Hera in disguise.
6. As well as carrying people across rivers, Christopher did a lot of preaching and converting people, and refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods. Inevitably, this annoyed the local king, who first tried to tempt Christopher by bribes and sending him two beautiful women. Christopher converted them, too, so the king condemned Christopher to death. After several failed attempts to execute him, he was beheaded.
7. He is known as the patron saint of travellers, but he is patron of a number of other things, too: bachelors, athletes, soldiers, sailors, motorists, gardeners, mountaineers, surfers, archers, bookbinders, fruit dealers, holy death, against toothache, epilepsy, floods, storms, Lightning and pestilence. Christopher is the patron saint of many places, including Brunswick, Germany; Saint Christopher's Island (St Kitts); Riga, Latvia and Havana, Cuba.
8. His patronage of travellers led to the Saint Christopher medal, a medallion bearing the image of Christopher carrying the Christ child, often worn by travellers as a sign of devotion and a request for the saint's blessing on their journey. A common saying in France is "Behold St Christopher and go your way in safety" while in Spain, "If you trust St. Christopher, you won't die in an accident" is often printed on cards. In Austria, on the Sunday closest to Christopher's feast day, there is a collection where people give a sum of money for every kilometre they travelled during the year. The money is used to buy vehicles for missionaries.
9. Saint Christopher is sometimes portrayed as having a Dog's head. This is because he was believed to be a member of a fearsome tribe called the Marmaritae who were giants with dogs' heads, who ate people. In some versions of the Saint Christopher legend, when Christopher met the Christ child, Christ rewarded him by granting him a human head.
10. Christopher is the most popular saint in England if you count up the number of wall paintings of him in churches. A survey by a Mrs. Collier in 1904, for the British Archaeological Association, reported 183 paintings, statues, and other representations of the saint. Only The Virgin Mary (and presumably Christ himself) had more representations.