### BIAGIO, Saint, Martyr
Uncertain and obscure are the details of his life and martyrdom.
According to the widely circulated but highly fabulous *Passio*, he was a physician before being elected to the episcopal see of Sebaste in Armenia, his native city. When the persecution of Licinius broke out (307–323), he hid in a cave where he cared for the beasts that came to him; discovered by some hunters and brought before the prefect Agricolaus, he was subjected to horrific torments. Condemned to capital punishment, as he was being led to execution among other miracles he healed a boy who was choking on a fishbone. Thanks to this prodigy, B. is invoked especially for ailments of the throat, and on his feast day (February 3) it is customary to bless throats with two blessed candles. He was widely venerated in the West and numbered among the Holy Helpers (v.).
In Rome, 54 churches and oratories were dedicated to St. B. Feast: in the East, February 11; in the West, the 3rd of the same month.
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### ST. BLASE IN FOLKLORE
The popular cult of the saint stems from certain elements of his legend. The episode in which St. B. saves a boy by extracting a fishbone from his throat is the one that most powerfully struck the popular imagination; hence he is invoked as a miraculous healer of every form of throat ailment, including diphtheria, and even when food lodges in the throat. On his feast day, February 3, “St. Blaise buns” of various kinds are made and eaten as an act of devotion in different places. In keeping with other miraculous cures attributed to him in legend, his protection is also invoked against various ailments of humans and animals.
Since the legend especially mentions iron combs among the instruments of his torture, and this is one of his distinctive attributes in iconography—as seen, for example, in the painting by Domenico Ghirlandaio (Galleria Mazzarosa, Lucca)—the saint has been chosen as the patron of wool carders. He is also venerated as the protector of farmers, who in some places (e.g., in France) celebrate him with processions of decorated carts and costumed groups. Some ethnographers see in this the substitution of a previous pagan cult of a rural deity whose feast coincided with the same date. The saint is also invoked by young women seeking a husband.
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### BIALIK, CHAIM NACHMAN
The leading contemporary Hebrew poet. Born in Radi (Volhynia) on January 9, 1873; died in Vienna on July 6, 1934. His poetic activity unfolded uninterruptedly from 1891 to 1911, yielding some fruit in 1915; his last poem was written in 1923 on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday. A vigorous lyricist, he gave the Hebrew language plasticity and originality and became an interpreter of the entire people; he also composed folk songs. As a prose writer, he published short stories, translations, critical essays, and works for children.
Notably celebrated are his *Legends of King David and King Solomon*. Among his didactic publications are a commentary on the Mishnah, a large anthology of traditional Haggadah, and biblical anthologies. He also published and commented on poems by medieval authors. In Russia and Palestine he headed important publishing houses and founded and directed literary journals.
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