St. Catherine's Taffy (french: la Tire de Ste. Catherine) is a variety of
taffy made by French-Canadian families to celebrate the feast day of
Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...
, which takes place annually on
November 25
Events Pre-1600
*571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates the first of his three triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans.
*1034 – Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethó ...
.
Origins
St. Catherine's Taffy is a candy made by girls in French-Canadian families to honour
St. Catherine, the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of unmarried women on her
feast day, November 25.
St. Catherine's day is sometimes known in Franco Canadian families as "taffy day," a day when marriage-age girls would make taffy for eligible boys.
Marguerite Bourgeoys
Marguerite Bourgeoys (17 April 162012 January 1700), was a French nun and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in the colony of New France, now part of Québec, Canada. Born in Troyes, she became part of a sodality, ministering ...
, a founder of the
Notre-Dame de Montréal and an early teacher at Ville-Marie, the colonial settlement that would later become Montreal, is credited with starting the tradition as a way of keeping the attention of her young students.
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See also
* Catherinette
References
External links
St. Catherine's taffy recipe
Holiday foods
Cuisine of Quebec
Canadian confectionery
Religious food and drink
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