November 25 – Catterntide

November 25, 2020

Posted on November 25, 2020

Another name for this holiday is St. Catherine’s Day (see “Also on this date, below), and it is the feast day for St. Catherine of Alexandria. Fireworks displays called Catherine Wheel fireworks, Cattern Cakes with caraway seeds, St. Catherine’s taffy, and parades with homemade or fancy milliner-made hats are all features of olden and modern celebrations.

Back in the day, Catterntide was especially celebrated by lacemakers. You may have already guessed that St. Catherine is considered the patron saint of textile making and lacemaking – also called tatting. Nottingham Trent University, in England, has held special Catterntide festivals highlighting the lace connection.

The history of lace! The Lace Archive, with more than 75,000 pieces of lace! A piano made of lace! Lace made of plastic! Lace made of icing sugar!

When I hear the word “lace,” I usually think of old-fashioned doilies on furniture, or of course tablecloths and wedding dresses. All of those things are beautiful…

…But lace can be so much more! There is modern and even avant-garde (think outrageous!) lace-based fashion; there are lace stencils to paint lace patterns on walls – and even lace-patterned murals and graffiti!!