As yesterday was Halloween, All Hallows Eve, it follows that today is All Saints Day.
I thought, to commemorate the day, it might be fun to tell about all the plants and animals that have been named for saints. Not for all the Saints, though, because I didn’t find anywhere near as many examples as I had expected.
As far as I can tell, there are no mushrooms or snakes named for saints. Perhaps they were too closely associated with evil to receive saintly names.
But even during pagan times, certain plants were thought to overcome evil. One yellow flower, for example, bloomed each year around the Summer Solstice.
People wove this flower into wreathes and garlands in celebration of Midsummer's Night. Wise priests and clergy, resigned to the fact that was futile to mess with certain traditions, simply named the flower for St. John--for it was he, according to their belief, was sent to bear witness to the light… and the power of good over evil.
Ladybugs were named for St. Mary. This name was bestowed during the Middle Ages. European wine producers were facing total ruin because insect pests were destroying the grape crop. Insecticides hadn't been invented, and the situation was pretty grim. But the people believed that if they prayed to the Virgin Mary, the grapes would be saved.
So the people prayed and almost immediately, a huge cloud of ravenous beetles descended on the vineyards, devoured the insects, and saved the grapes.
Believing their prayers had been answered by St. Mary, the people dedicated the beetles to "Our Lady" and the insects have been called Ladybugs ever since.
One group of ocean birds was named for St. Peter. Called Petrels--these birds were so named because they appeared to walk on water. The truth is, often they do walk, or more accurately, run across the surface of waves.
In some traditions, saints are associated with miracles. And I guess to me, the very act of survival, whether by plant or by animal, is little short of miraculous. And when it comes to the powers of good over evil, plants and animals do not need a reformation. They survive and that is good.
