#catholic customs

[fateandsin]

“Jesus instructed us not to pray like theologians who are hypocrites (Mt 6:5); but neither does he want us to pray like pagens who don’t have a clue what they’re doing (Mt 6:7).” - Scott Hahn, Signs of Life.

[apisa-b]

Around Christmas Catholics indulge in some weird customs. One of them I want to describe for @usethehorseluke , for it involves horses.

On the 26th of December Catholics celebrate St. Stephen, who was the first martyr. Why St. Stephen is called the patron saint of horses, google couldn’t tell me. But he is.

As one of the churches near my hometown is dedicated to St. Stephen, some of the old customs surrounding him as the patron saints of horses are still kept alive there. Those horse related customs go back to the middle ages, and I strongly suspect that this might be one of those occasions, where the catholic church has incorporated older customs it couldn’t eradicate, and put it in relation to one of its (unsuspecting) saints.

It the little town St. Stefan (towns around here are often called after the saint  their church is dedicated to) on the 26th of December riders groom their horses, ride to the church and wait until the service inside is finished. During the service some hard, salted bread is blessed.

After the service horses and riders or carriage drivers waiting in front of the church are blessed, and each horse is given a piece of the salted bread as a treat.

Then the horses are ridden three times around the church; the first round they are being walked, the second round is in trot, and the third round they are being cantered.

As you can imagine - and probably see on the last picture - this custom is a magnet for spectators and tourists.

I’ve never participated on the ride around the church, for my barn was too far away from St. Stefan, but we had a blessing ceremony in the riding hall on the 26th of December. All riders present would lead their groomed horses in the hall, where a short blessing ceremony was held, and each horse was given a treat by the priest. After that he would walk through the barn to bless the horses which have not been led into the hall, so no horse was excluded.