Irish holidays - Saint Mel's Day in Ireland

Thanks to holy missionaries, Ireland became a Christian state during the fifth century. One of these preachers was St. Mel, whose feast day is widely celebrated by the Irish on the day of his death, February 7th. According to legend, Mel was the nephew of St. Patrick himself. Relatives arrived together to distant Ireland, inhabited by pagan tribes with wild morals and cruel customs. Mel, like his companions, was ready to accept great martyrdom for the sake of faith, but Ireland became fertile ground for the spread of Christianity. Within a few years, the saint became the bishop of the church in Arda, built under the leadership of Patrick himself. Mel, like other missionaries in Ireland, set a personal example of Christian virtue to his flock. He spent whole days at work and was very unpretentious. The saint distributed everything that went beyond his modest needs to those in need. But, despite his modesty and high morality, Mel was once suspected of indecent behavior. Extreme necessity forced Mel to live under the same roof with his own aunt Lupail, a woman who was not yet at all old and attractive. Slanderers suspected relatives of a closer connection. Obscene rumors spread and reached Patrick. The Holy Father did not want any further discussion of the behavior of his relatives, and therefore decided to visit them personally. When Patrick arrived at his nephew's house, Mel was plowing the field. The Lord sent a sign of his innocence and showed a miracle. Mel pulled out a live fish from a plowed furrow, as if he were standing on the bank of a river. Lupail's purity was also proven; the woman grabbed and carried hot coals without experiencing pain or getting burned. Saint Patrick did not have the slightest doubt about the sinlessness of his relatives, and yet he expressed a wish for their separation. This is probably why St. Mel's Day on February 7 is also called the holiday of single people. This is a reason to rejoice for anyone who is not in a relationship but does not feel left out.