21st of January - St Agnes Day
21st of January is the 21st day of the year
St Agnes Day:
With an illogicality that only the religious can explain, the virgin martyr St Agnes became associated with rituals and customs that supposedly allowed young girls to see who their future husband would be. Agnes, living in 4th century Rome, was a devout Christian child of 12 or 13, already decided on a religious life and chastity. Unfortunately for her the son of Rome’s Prefect fell in love and was rejected by the pious maiden. The story thereafter has several different versions, though all with her faith saving the child until a deputy of the Prefect beheads her or stabs her in the throat. Either on the eve of her saint’s day, or the day itself, girls in Britain used to try to divine their future husband by throwing seed behind them to take the man’s form; or they would fast for 24 hours then recite a short rhyme to conjure his image; walk backwards to bed thence to dream of him; and so on.
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