Saint Mark's Day, or the Feast of Saint Mark, commemorates

Mark the Evangelist Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Acco ...

and takes place on April 25.

Local observances and customs

Italy

The 25th of April is a national holiday throughout Italy, though not as Saint Mark's Day, but as anniversary of the liberation of Italy from the Nazi-Fascists in World War II (25 April 1945).

Sardinia

Tresnuraghes Tresnuraghes is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about north of Oristano. The name means ''three nuraghes'' in Sardinian. Geography Tresnuraghes bor ...

, a small village in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), a traditional Sardinian feast is held. Local

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

families in this predominantly pastoral community offer sheep and oversee cooking them in a gesture of thanks to

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. Other families offer bread as

thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

or for favors desired. Hundreds of people, mostly from said village, but a large number of other people as well, eat and drink to satiation together.

Venice

The Feast of Saint Mark ( it, Festa di san Marco), also known as the rosebud festival ( Venetian: ''festa del bócoło''), is a festival in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

held on 25 April celebrating Venice's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

. On this day, men traditionally give a single

rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995. * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device. * "Ros ...

to the women they love.Touring Club Italiano
"Guida d'Italia, Venezia"
1985. According to legend, the tradition originated in the 8th century, when a man of low social standing is said to have fallen in love with a noblewoman from Venice. In order to win her father's approval, he became involved in a distant war. He was mortally wounded in battle, but managed to pluck a rose from a nearby rosebush for his loved one. A companion was entrusted with returning the blood-stained rose to his lover.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, St. Mark is considered the guardian of earth and harvests. There was a ban on eating meat in order to have a good harvest. People avoided "touching the earth", i.e. no plowing or digging, to give the earth a rest before the upcoming hard work of planting and harvest.

Mexico

This festivity is celebrated in the city of

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

, Mexico on the same date. It gives name to one of the most celebrated festivities, the Saint Mark National Fair (Spanish:

Feria Nacional de San Marcos The ''Feria Nacional de San Marcos'' (San Marcos Fair) is a national fair held in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes every year for three (or sometimes four) weeks. Most of the events related to the fair, however, occur in the city of Aguascalie ...

) which runs generally for three weeks around this date. Also, in

Paraíso, Tabasco Paraíso is a town and municipality located in the north of the Mexican state of Tabasco, about 75 km due north of the state capital of Villahermosa on the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the area is traditionally dedicated to fishing and agriculture ...

, Mexico, Saint Mark is celebrated the 25 April due to his patronage of that city.

References

{{Reflist

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

April observances