Agatha of Sicily

:"For communities named after St. Agatha, see Sainte-Agathe." from Ondarroa, 2001. Notice that it is sung by a single person and there are no stick beats.
Basques have a tradition of gathering on Saint Agatha's eve and going round the village. Homeowners can choose to hear a song about her life, accompanied by the beats of their walking sticks on the floor or a prayer for those deceased in the house.After that, the homeowner donates food to the chorus.

This song has varying lyrics according to the local tradition and the Basque language.An exceptional case was that of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, when a version appeared that, in the Spanish language, praised the Soviet ship Komsomol, which had sunk while carrying Soviet weapons to the Second Spanish Republic.

An annual festival to commemorate the life of Saint Agatha takes place in Catania, Sicily, from 3 to 5 February. The festival culminates in a great procession through the city for which hundreds of thousands of the city's residents turn out.

ee also

*Santa Gadea, a church of historical importance devoted to Agatha, located in Burgos.
*The Incorruptibles, a list of Catholic saints and beati whose bodies are reported to be incorrupt; that is, the bodies did not undergo any major decay after their burial and hence are considered to be under some form of divine protection.

References

*Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. "The Penguin Dictionary of Saints". 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.

External links

* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta04.htm Patron Saints Index]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01203c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Saint Agatha]