Today is the feast day of St Sebastian, a patron of lace makers. 10 things you might not know about lace:
- The word lace derives from the Latin word lacere, which means to entice or ensnare.
- Most lace today is made from Cotton, but before 1800 the threads of lace were usually linen. Other materials such as silk wool and even metal and Hair have been used to make it.
- No-one knows for sure where lace originated. It’s possible it evolved independently in several different places. A painting of a priest wearing lace, dating to 1485 by Hans Memling has led to claims lace was a Flemish invention; a similar claim is made by the Milanese Sforza family, who have a will dating to 1493 which mentions lace.
- Ornamented openwork fabrics similar to lace have been found in ancient Egyptian burial grounds.
- It was the clergy in the Catholic church who wore it first, but around the 16th century its use became more widespread and cottage industries sprang up all over Europe.
- Lace for wedding dresses was made fashionable by Queen Victoria, who wore lace from Honiton in Devon on her wedding day.
- Talking of weddings, a couple’s 13th wedding anniversary is their lace anniversary.
- St Sebastian is one of several saints who are patrons of lace makers. Others are Saints Anne, Crispian, Crispin, Elizabeth of Hungary, Francis of Assisi, Luke the Evangelist, Teresa of Avila and John Regis. The latter is said to have set many women up in the lace making trade as an alternative to prostitution, which is why he is one of their patrons.
- While not a saint, Catherine of Aragon did lace makers in Ampthill, England a few favours. When she was exiled there, she burned all her lace and commissioned new pieces from the local craftspeople. This kept them busy, but they had an official day off – Cattern's day in November. Cattern cakes – small dough cakes made with caraway seeds, were eaten to celebrate.
- English diarist Samuel Pepys often described the lace on his clothing, and that of his wife and friends as well. In 1669, he wrote that he was going to remove some gold lace from the sleeves of a coat because he’d decided it looked too ostentatious.
New Year New Reading Challenge?
I can help. Here are links to books which meet potential criteria:
A title with three words
- Death and Faxes
- Killing Me Softly
- Settling the Score
- Secrets and Skies
- Over the Rainbow
- Closing the Circle
A title with six words
A book with a number in the title
A book with a colour in the title
Short story collections/A book with a green cover
A book published in the last year/during lockdown
A book you can finish in a day/A book under 200 pages
A book featuring characters from a deck of cards
A Book set during Christmas
A book with a place in the title
A Debut novel
A book with a plant or flower on the cover/A book about siblings
A book with a female villain or criminal
Includes space travel
Features Royalty
Books featuring skiing or snowboarding
A book with the Olympic games in it
A book with a bird in the title
A book featuring a secret society
A book featuring time travel/alternative dimensions
Raiders Trilogy:
Books featuring superheroes
Books featuring ghosts
From an Indie Publisher/Self published/An author you've not read before/A female author/A genre you wouldn't normally read/A book outside your comfort zone/A book by an author with your initials and your initials are JH
All of them!
More details can be found here
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