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Traditionally Advent was a time of fasting and penance awaiting the coming of the Christ child. Keeping that in mind, the mediaeval Church in November girded its loins with some seasonal celebrations before the fasting period; some of these, like Hallowmas and Martinmas are still observed, albeit highly secularized. Others, such as St. Clement’s Day on November 23rd, are all but forgotten by most people.
St. Clement: Pope and martyr
Saint Clement is the fourth pope. He lived from 35 – 97 AD and is said to have been ordained by none other than Saint Peter.
One story about him tells of his pursuit by the Emperor Trajan. Clement put wool in his sandals to aid his escape. The friction from running caused the wool to turn into felt, thus inventing the felting industry. Ultimately, the enemies of the Church caught Clement and imprisoned him. He was martyred by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the Black Sea.
According to legend, a divine shrine was built over his remains which can be seen when the sea recedes once a year. This association with anchors granted St. Clement patronage of seafarers and blacksmiths.
He is remembered on the 23rd of November.
Historical St. Clement’s Day
Material suggests the observance of Clementide as early as the sixteenth century. Like the other rituals of the season, it was customary for children to call door to door, singing in exchange for money or sweets, known as clementing. One Warwickshire version from the 1870’s (as recorded in Steve Roud’s The English Year) goes as follows:
Clementing, clementing once a year
Apples and pears are very good cheer
One for Peter, two for Paul
And three for Him who made us all
Up wit the hatchet and down with the shoe
If you have no apples, money will do
Money will do, money will do
As indicated, apples were a customary gift. In modernity, these harvest fruits gave way to oranges thanks to the children’s nursery rhyme which begins:
Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement’s.
Many of the traditional foods of the day, such as clementing cakes and St. Clement’s pudding, included orange peel and citrus, a seasonal ingredient.
In Sussex, the blacksmith guild dressed a figure with a beard and pipe and set it out at the location of the St. Clement’s Day feast. This effigy was affectionately referred to as Old Clem, to whom the celebrants toasted, “to the memory of Old Clem, and prosperity to all his descendants.” In other places, a member of the blacksmith guild dressed up as Old Clem and processed through the town on the shoulders of his colleagues, wielding a hammer and tongs. The money raised went toward the guild’s feast.
Clementide for Today
You don’t have to be a blacksmith or named Clement or Clemence to observe St. Clement’s Day. The Church year is for everyone!
This November 23, you might wish to set aside time to learn more about Pope Saint Clement I and the papacy. Consider baking some citrusy treats and gifting them to neighbours in a reverse clementing practice. Read from the Epistles of Clement which, while not in the Bible, are nevertheless part of the apostolic writings of the early Church. Recipes and activities abound for how to observe St. Clement’s over at Hearthside Fables, an excellent resource for living the liturgical year.
There is no wrong reason to celebrate the saints, our friends and models, who guide us in living a life in Christ all the year round.
And today we celebrate...