Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Who Are Today's Saints?

I always love a twofer. And today we get feudin' twins. Feudin' arabic twins who are the patron saints of hairdressers! How inclusive is that?

Today is the Feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian. They are barber-surgeon martyrs from the year 300.

Patrons of barbers, candy makers, chemical workers, doctors, druggists, hairstylists, surgeons. Invoke them against bladder disease, blindness, hernia and pestilence. (Dick Cheney, you've got problems in all these areas. Invoke away).

Here's the story, according to my Saint-A-Day Guide:

Twin brothers born in Arabia, Cosmas and Damian were doctors who never charged a fee and subsequently became known as the "moneyless ones." When a grateful patient forced three eggs on Damian as payment, Cosmas became indignant and announced that he would not be buried with his greedy twin. After their martyrdom their followers, complying with Cosmas' request, started to bury the twins separately. A camel (the Saints were veterinarians as well) trotted over and begged the mourners, in the name of all four-legged creatures, to bury them together. The Saints' most famous feat was transplanting a healthy white leg onto a black patient (or vice versa). At their martyrdom Cosmas and Damian caused arrows and stones to boomerang back to the executioners [blogger's note: 'I'm rubber you're glue'protective mantra favored by schoolchildren originated here] until they succumbed to the usually fail-safe method of beheading. In Rome the Medicis (whose name means "doctors" in Italian)were devotees of these Saints and named a number of their offspring Cosmo. Saint Damian, on his own, cures bladder problems.


If Cosmas and Damian were alive today, they would not be saints, they would be those guys from 'Shear Genius'. And that one guy from 'Grey's Anatomy'.

10 comments:

Fran said...

Cosmos and Damian... patrons of hairdressers!

I love it Jess! You've cheered me immeasurably!

splord said...

OT, I have corrected a wrong by adding you to my blogroll. I could've sworn I had already done so, but....

Jess Wundrun said...

franuis I was abso-tota-lutingly thinking of you when I did Saint-A-Day today. Knew you'd dig it.

phydeaux thank yeux!

Suzy said...

What if we sold the blessings of saints as a school fundraiser? 6-10 sales gets the kid into purgatory. 11-15 they get to enter the Pearly Gates, and more than 25 gets them a meeting with the Big Guy. And those that sell fewer than 6 get a pie in the face!

Fran said...

Suzy we used to do that in the Catholic church, well a variation. Someone finally figured out it was not exactly the right way to go...

Jess - thanks! I am a woman for whom hairdressing and saints go hand in hand!!

BTW completely unrelated to this post. I thought long and hard about Eat Pray Love for my trip, I really do want to read that. Leave it to Ms Pseudo Intellectual to go with Chris Dodd's Letters From Nuremberg instead! Light reading hahah.

Jess Wundrun said...

suzy & franuis fran must be talking about indulgences. A major craw in the bonnet of martin luther! But I kinda like 'em.

dr. z ebony and ivory zombies! genius!

pissed off patricia said...

My friend is a hairdresser, should I give her a gift today or something. I'm not catholic so I'm new to this saint business. ;)

Jess Wundrun said...

POP nope you don't have to give her a gift, you just have to try to remember her day. Which you didn't because it was yesterday. Oh well. Always next year.

What you can do is ask her what a decent tip for hairdressers is. I never know.

Suzy said...

Do you tip your hairdresser if s/he owns the salon? I.e., have I been a big old jerk for the last 18 years?

Fran said...

Sorry Suzy- I have been duped by this for many years in the past as well.

Owner? No tip!

One of the best hairdressers I ever went to told me right up front that it was her shop and that she would not ever accept a tip.

Got to love that.