St. Blaise Sticks (Pan bendito)

In Europe there is a tradition of giving blessed bread to others on the feast of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr. These are shaped into breadsticks called St. Blaise Sticks or Pan bendito.

It is said that those who partake of the bread will be protected against problems with their throats. In honor of his memorial (February 3) consider serving breadsticks alongside a fish dinner, recalling the legend of St. Blaise saving the young boy from choking on a fish bone.

Breadsticks can be made with either packaged breadstick or pizza dough, or using your favorite dough recipe. You can also easily shape them into a bishop’s staff before baking for a fun and symbolic twist!

Prayer in Honor of St. Blaise

O GOD, deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and martyr Blase, from all evil of soul and body, especially from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to make a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy pardon, and ever to praise with worthy lips Thy most holy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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St. Blaise's Cookies

We have a couple of family feast days coming up at the beginning of February, so for the sake of my sanity I knew we wouldn't be celebrating the feast of Candlemas with any foodie fun. (We will be going to Mass and having some candles blessed, but that's about it.) 

But, like Jessica, I saw these adorable candle cookies over at Family Fun and really wanted to try them. Well, since St. Blase's Day is one of our family feast days, and Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes are easy enough to find I decided to pass on hunting down the cookies used for the base and decided instead to use a simplified version to represent the candles used for the blessing of the throats, which is traditionally done on St. Blase's day.

St. Blase's feast day isn't until February 3rd, but I went ahead and made this little tutorial for the visual people, like me, who might need to see it in pictures to better understand my alterations.

I used:

Pepperidge Farm Vanilla Pirouette cookies

white chocolate chips

mini marshmallows

white sugar

a few drops each of red and yellow food coloring

First, I made my own orange colored sugar by mixing a few drops of red and yellow food coloring with plain white sugar. Tossing it around in a zippered baggie works great plus the kids get a kick out of watching the color change. Not having any powdered sugar on hand to make the glaze frosting they recommended, I melted some white chocolate chips and snipped off the corner of another zippered bag. When my family made gingerbread houses this past year, I learned that melted white chocolate makes an excellent construction substance. It's easy to pipe on and firms up in a jiffy.

Next, cut the mini marshmallows in half on the diagonal and dip the cut end into the orange sugar to create the flame effect.

Use a drop of melted white chocolate to attach the marshmallow to the cookie and dribble some down the top to create the look of melted wax. I used another little drop to attach the two together in an X shape for this picture, but for the feast day, I plan to pick up some red licorice laces to tie them together, just like the candles that will be used to bless our throats on the day.

It is also a tradition in some countries to have some bread blessed on St. Blase's Day to keep on hand for treating sore throats. Long, thin bread sticks might also be a fun way to remember this Holy Helper and are easy enough to add to almost any meal!

Also, if you are looking for a coloring page for St. Blase, you can find one here on my personal blog.

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - blessing of Saint Blaise

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Fun and Fancy Folds - Napkin Folding for Feast Days

Napkins, a functional part of every meal, can be folded into fanciful forms to become a joyful addition to your table and feast day meal. There are numerous napkin folding styles that could be used to represent symbols of saints or liturgical seasons. Especially for those days when you don’t have the time to prepare any feast oriented foods to serve, this can be an easy and appealing way to dress up the feast day table. Folding napkins need not be a time consuming chore, but a quick and enjoyable experience with dramatic results. It’s a great hands-on project for the children. When getting started it's helpful to know that cotton and linen napkins hold a better crease. Polyester blends require less care but do not hold a crease well.

Take today for example – the Feast of the Presentation or Candlemas. Need a last minute addition to help the feast day have some visual appeal? – there are several different napkin folds reminiscent of tapers or candles:

Pictured here are the “Candlestick” or “Candle” style on the left, and Nightlight” on the right. You can link to a tutorial of the “Candlestick” here and “Nightlight” here.

This idea – which, for lack of a better description, I have been referring to as liturgical napkin folding, holds much promise . There are so many ideas and there is much that could be done with it if you are so inclined. Even if there is not a particular shape we can fold to fit the feast day as a symbol, there are many folds that will enclose a favor that can be used to tuck a holy card, or flower, or other seasonal token inside to remind us of the focus of the feast day. Another simple idea like varying the napkin colors, even if not folded at all, can tie in the liturgical seasons - Purple in Advent and Lent, Red for Pentecost, the Passion, or Martyrs’ feasts, White (or Gold) for the feast of Our Lord, Blue (or White) to honor Our Lady’s feasts, Green in Ordinary Time. You can also stick to simple folds or rolled napkins and dress those up with napkin rings that tie into the feasts and seasons. I have lots of ideas and will be sharing those with you in upcoming posts.

****And I know I am posting this late this afternoon, so if you don’t see this in time for Candlemas don’t fret, the candle napkins would be perfect again tomorrow, February 3, for the feast of St. Blase.

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