• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CooksInfo

  • Home
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Recipes
  • Food Calendar
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar
×
Home » Food Calendar » St Bibiana’s Day

St Bibiana’s Day

2 December
Monk tasting wine

An abbey cellarer testing his wine. From: Li livres dou santé by Aldobrandino of Siena Late 13th century / wikimedia / Public Domain

The 2nd of December is St Bibiana’s Day. St Bibiana, aka Saint Viviana, is the Patron Saint of Drunks and Hangovers — even if accidentally. What better saint to lead us off into the high holidays season?

Did you know it’s just a myth that alcohol goes away when you cook with it, leaving only the flavour? Much of it in fact does survive.

#stbibianaday

See also: Alcohol, Beverages

History Notes

Bibiana’s family were Christians in Rome during the persecutions of the Emperor Julian. She was martyred sometime around 361 to 363.

In fact, the only thing we know for sure about her life is that a basilica in Rome was consecrated to her in c. 467 AD by Pope Simplicius (pope from 468 to 483). The church is still extant today in Rome, called “Santa Bibiana”, next to the main train station in Rome. The bodies of three women (the other two presumed to be her mother Dafrosa and her sister Demetria ) were actually found in a sarcophagus in the church, with a piece of metal in the sarcophagus identifying them by name. Later, stories grew up about her family being persecuted Christians, with the church said to be the site where her house was.

Language Notes

Her name actually names “full of life” (“vivo”), but the Spanish tend to pronounce “v’s” as “b’s”, and thus she became St Bibiana. The “bib” part sounded related to the Latin word “bibere“, “to drink” — where our words such as “beverage” and “imbibe” come from — so it is by sound association that she got mixed up with drinkers. There’s nothing actually in the story of her life about her carousing around Rome.

This page first published: Aug 20, 2005 · Updated: Nov 24, 2021.

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · Information on this site is Copyright © 2022· Feel free to cite correctly, but copying whole pages for your website is content theft and will be DCMA'd.

Tagged With: Saints

Primary Sidebar

Search

    Today is

  • Vinalia rustica
    Grapes
  • Potato Day
    Harvesting potatoes
  • Soft Ice Cream Day
  • Charles E. Hires Birthday

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About this site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright enforced!
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Site

  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · The text on this site is © Copyright.