Overwhelmed by the green-soaked fervor of St Patrick's Day, it's easy to forget that it's another famous saint's day today. It's not only the day of the man who brought Christianity to Ireland...it's also the day of the man who brought Christianity--and the Holy Grail--to England.
Joseph of Arimathea, also known as Joseph of Glastonbury, was a wealthy tin-mine owner in Cornwall in the first century. He was an immigrant success story, having come into the country from the Middle East with only three things in his possession. According to legend, he brought only a traveling staff, a cup, and Christianity.
He stuck the staff in the ground when he reached Somerset, where it took root, grew, and flowered on Christmas day.
The cup, he secreted around what is now the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. It was the Holy Grail, and the water from that well flowed red from that point on. (Science explains the russet coloring around the well as residue from the heavy iron deposits in the area--it's basically rust--but tradition prefers to think that it's the blood of the Lord).
And as for Christianity, well, that grew more prolifically than the travelling staff. Joseph had some first-hand experience of the birth of Christianity. He was, so legend had it, the "noble counselor" mentioned in the Gospel of Mark who took Jesus's body, prepared it for burial, bought a grave site, and buried him in it.
That was a lot of work for a grave that only got three days use!
That's why Joseph was awarded the patron sainthood of pallbearers and funeral directors. He was also claimed as an ancestor by many members of English royal families through the ages. And to cap it all off, Joseph of Arimathea also got an honorable mention in the 2003 best selling book, The Da Vinci Code. It's our guess he may not be quite so flattered about that one, though.
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