St Florian
The Christmas ball representes a figure of Saint Florian. It is designed to be hung on a Christmas Tree or exposed on a display stand.
Saint Florian is presented in a Roman legionary costume. In his left hand he is carrying a flag. He is also extinguishing a burning house with a jug of water.
Attributes
A flag
The flag is a symbol of a leadership and also of peace- St. Florian does not come to the faithful as a soldier but as a guardian.
A jug of water
The jug of water was a part of firefighters’ equipment.
A burning house
The burning house extinguished with water is a symbol of Florian’s guardianship over houses at the time of fires or disasters.
What do we remember from the life of Saint Florian:
- He was born around 250 AC in Cetium, Rome (today Zeiselmauer-Wolfpassing in Austria), he died a martyr’s death in 304.
- He was a Roman soldier. St. Florian also created, trained and led a firefighting brigade responsible for putting out fires.
- He lived at the time of persecutions of first Christians by Emeror Diocletian.
- He was secretly baptised.
- He was imprisoned and tortured for refusing taking part in the persecution of Christians.
- He was then sentenced to death for refusing offering a sacrifice to Roman gods.
- He was supposed to be burned at stake but none of the present soldiers was brave enough to set fire, instead he was executed by drowning in the Enns River.
- He appeared to a widow in her dream and asked her to move his body and build a church in that place.
- In the place indicated by Florian there is a church and a Benedictine monastery now.
- In 1184 King Kazimierz Sprawiedliwy (Casimir the Just) brought to Poland the relics of Saint Florian.
- Church of Saint Florian in Kleparz, Cracow was built in the place where horses carrying Florian’s relics stopped. The building was the only one that survived fire of the town in 16th century.
- The highest honour for firefighters in Poland is to get Krzyż Zasługi Orderu św. Floriana (Merit Cross of St. Florian).
Florian was born around 250 AC in today’s Austria that once was a part of Roman Empire. He was drafted into the army and he was quickly promoted.
The name Florian comes from Latin and means "flowering".
There were a few Catholic saints with this name, but the most famous of them is St. Florian from Cetium, the martyr.
His feast day is on the 4th of May and it is splendidly celebrtated by the firefighters.
Florian is a patron saint of firefighters and occupations connected with fire: steelworkers, metallurgists, chimny sweeps, potery makers, coke workers, and bakers. He is invoked against fires, floods (because he died by drowning), lightning, and the pains of purgatory.
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