Why do you eat leftover panettone in San Biagio?

Il February 3rd is dedicated in the Christian calendar to St Blaise and in Milan to honor the Saint it is tradition to eat a slice of advanced panettone. Someone thought of linking the figure of the ancient bishop to the city in the shadow of the Madonnina legend popular. The crowd also wants the remains of Christmas cake to act as a panacea against sore throatbut today it is above all theeconomy.

Who was Saint Blaise?

To understand why leftover panettone is eaten in Milan at San Biagio, it is first necessary to dwell on the figure of the Saint. Blaise of Sebaste was a doctor and a Christian bishop who lived in Asia Minor at the turn of the third and fourth centuries AD He is dead martyr, beheaded, in order not to renounce his faith, after being tortured for a long time with an iron comb. The Church then declared him a saint and protector of the gola giving it a miracle. In fact, a mother would have brought her dying religious son to her, with a leaves of fish stuck in the throat. St. Blaise would have given the boy a big one crumb of bread that would have removed it, saving it.

San Biagio and leftover panettone

The legend that gave rise to the tradition of panettone di San Biagio is much more recent and can be traced back to800 Milanese. It is said that then a woman brought to a friar named Wish a panettone to bless him. He, very busy, would have invited her to return in the following days, but pushed by the gola, he would then gradually eat all the dessert. The woman would therefore have returned to the religious the February 3rd and he would have resigned himself to carrying it in front of the empty wrapping. Once he reached the hiding place, however, the friar would have found a panettone in front of him grande twice the original. The singular miracle it would therefore have been attributed to San Biagio.

A heartfelt tradition

Eating leftover panettone on San Biagio’s day is still a very tradition for the Milanese today heard. To properly honor the legend on this day, therefore, one proceeds to open the last sweet preserved from Christmas and consume one slicemaybe for breakfast. According to popular belief, doing so would mean protecting oneself from ailments to the throat, of which the Saint is protector.

Those who, for the occasion, they buy the panettone from scratch are, however, more and more. The product is sold to prices lower than those observed in the pre-Christmas periods and many pastry shops have transformed the anniversary into a business.

The tradition that wants San Biagio to be celebrated by eating a slice of leftover panettone colleague past e gift of the city of Milan. It represents, in fact, a legacy of that history peasant woman which today appears so far away and which returns an image that differs from that of today’s metropolis. The famous Proverbs “San Bias el benediss la gola e el nas” completes the picture.