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The Feast Day for Both St. James the Greater and St. James
the Lesser
Feast Day of Saint James the Greater
July 25th Western Church
April 30th Eastern Church
Feast Day of St. James the lesser
May 3rd Western Church
October 9th Eastern Church
Both St. James the Great and St. James the less have a St.
James Feast Day that is dedicated to honoring each man. St.
James the Greater has a Feast Day dedicated to him on July 25th
of each year for the Western church, and April 30th for the Eastern
church. St. James the Lesser has Feast Days dedicated to him on
May 3rd in the Western church since 1969, and October 9th for
the Eastern church. St. James the Lesser also shares a Feast Day
with St. Philip.
Part of the legend states that a Portuguese man was riding his
horse on the beach and the horse plunged into the sea with the
man still on the horse's back. The man suddenly emerged from the
sea with scallops shells all over him, which is one of the symbols
for St. James the Great. St. James the Great was a fisherman by
trade, which is where Jesus met up with him and instructed James
and his brother John to follow him. St. James the Great is the
Patron Saint of Spain, blacksmiths, tanners, veterinarians, as
well as equestrians. His depiction consists of James on horseback
with cockleshells, a sword, and a pilgrim hat.
Saint James Feast Day in Spain is a national holiday where
the Spanish celebrate in St. James' honor. There are many different
traditions that have been formed in some of the countries. For
instance, in England, it is customary to eat oysters, and proclaim
that anyone who eats the oyster will not want for anything. In
France, they eat scallops instead of an oyster.
While St. James the Great was handpicked by Jesus himself to follow
him, St. James the Less was related to Jesus in that St. James'
mother, Mary, was Jesus' mother's sister, Mary. It is also thought
that St. James' mother, Mary, was at the crucifix when Jesus died.
St. James the Less was called to the apostleship during Jesus'
second year of preaching.
St. James the Less was the first Bishop of Jerusalem and served
the church for 30 years. He was so devoted to prayer that his
knees and forehead were hardened, such as that of a camel's hoofs.
He was martyred in the name of God in 62 A.D. and prayed up to
God for the forgiveness of his murderers while he was being stoned
to death. The last hit that actually killed him was from a club,
which is now used in his depiction.
A Feast of St. James the Less, or as he's sometimes referred
to as James the Just, due to his abstinence from drinking wine,
eating meat, never cut his hair and did not anoint himself. The
last act to respecting St. James the Less in the church was that
he was a Jewish Christian put to death by the Jews.
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