Why Army and Marine Corps Artillery Celebrate Saint Barbara's Day

Saint Barbara might be one of the more obscure saints in Catholic and Orthodox legend, but she's venerated by U.S. military field artillery. On or around her feast day every Dec. 4, artillerymen gather to eat a large meal, toast Saint Barbara with the finest artillery punch and induct new members into the Order of Saint Barbara.

There's even a handy (but lengthy) instruction manual from the U.S. Field Artillery Association on how to conduct a Saint Barbara Celebration properly, because she's the patron saint of artillery -- and they take that patronage pretty seriously.

Be advised: Barbara's story is a grisly one.

Legend has it that Dioscorus, a wealthy pagan merchant in third-century Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon), had a beautiful daughter. She was so beautiful, in fact, that he locked her in a tower to keep male suitors he deemed undesirable away from her. Dioscorus was especially worried that she might fall for a Christian, a new but outlawed religion growing in popularity among the poor at the time.

Dioscorus was personally devoted to the Roman religion, but more importantly, he knew that any deviation from the faith would hurt him politically and destroy his business. Despite his efforts, Barbara learned about Christianity anyway and grew ill with the desire to learn more. Her father sent a doctor to heal her, but the doctor was actually a priest who baptized Barbara and converted her.

When her father found out, he demanded she renounce the faith. When she refused, he turned her over to the Romans, who tortured her. Yet, every morning of her captivity, her wounds were healed and she again refused. The Romans then paraded her through the town naked. According to legend, angels created a dense fog to obscure her from view as she walked through the streets. Finally, the Romans ordered Dioscorus to kill her.

Her father first tried to burn her alive, but every time he put a torch to her, the flame went out. After a few attempts, he carried out Barbara's execution by cutting off her head. The moment the deed was done, flames erupted from her body, and her father was struck by lightning as punishment, killing him instantly.

Since her veneration years after her death, the name of Saint Barbara was used to pray for protection against getting struck by lightning, in addition to sudden death by explosions or fires. Gunners in the 17th century adopted Saint Barbara, because their cannons were less than reliable -- not a bad idea when working with a new technology that might explode in your face.

That military tradition extended to the new United States, which celebrates Saint Barbara today. Marines, soldiers and civilian supporters "demonstrating a degree of professional competence and contributions to the promotion of the artillery branch" are awarded the Order of Saint Barbara by the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara, a panel made up of previous recipients.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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