in
Santa Maria Formosa, Venice, Saint Barbara is venerated by Catholics who face the danger of sudden and violent death at work. She is invoked against thunder and lightning and all accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder. She became the patroness saint of
artillerymen, armourers, military engineers, gunsmiths, and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives. Following the widespread adoption of gunpowder in mining in the 1600s, she was adopted as the patroness of miners, tunnellers, and other underground workers. As the geology and mine engineering developed in association with mining, she became patroness of these professions. The Spanish word , the corresponding Italian word , and the obsolete French , signify the
powder magazine of a ship or fortress. It was customary to have a statue of Saint Barbara at the magazine to protect the ship or fortress from suddenly exploding.
In English-speaking countries The church at (also known as Whale Island) Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, the former Gunnery School of the Royal Navy, is called St. Barbara's. Saint Barbara was also the Patroness saint of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps of the British Army, a church being dedicated to her, initially at Hilsea Barracks Portsmouth, and later being moved to Backdown in Surrey, when the Corps moved its training establishment there. Saint Barbara's Day, 4 December, is celebrated by the British (
Royal Artillery, RAF Armourers, Royal Engineers), Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Armourers, Australian (
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, RAAF Armourers), Canadian (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians (EOD), Canadian Ammunition Technicians, Canadian Air Force Armourers,
Royal Canadian Artillery, Canadian Military Field Engineers, Royal Canadian Navy Weapons Engineering Technicians), and New Zealand (RNZN Gunners Branch,
RNZA,
Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, RNZAF Armourers) armed forces. The
Irish Army venerates her as the patroness saint of the
Artillery Corps where she appears on the corps insignia, half dressed, holding a harp, sitting on a field cannon. Saint Barbara is recognized as the patroness saint of the field artillerymen of the
US Marine Corps 1st Marine Division, who commemorate Saint Barbara's Day with a dinner and the traditional preparation artillery punch. Saint Barbara is the patroness saint of the United States Field Artillery Association. To recognize the vital roles spouses and families play in the lives of field artillery soldiers and marines, the units celebrate Saint Barbara's Day with military balls or dinners and other activities. Although they do not celebrate her saint's day, she is also the patroness saint of US Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Ordnancemen. It is celebrated by the
Norwich University Artillery Battery with a nighttime fire mission featuring multiple
M116 howitzers. Several mining institutions also celebrate it, such as some branches of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. The West Australian Mining Club celebrate Saint Barbara's Day and use it to remember those people who have died working in the mining industry during the year. In the mining town
Kalgoorlie, Australia, as patroness saint of
miners she is venerated in the annual St. Barbara's Day parade. In New Zealand the Moawhango Tunnel on the
Tongariro Power Scheme was built by Italian tunnellers and commissioned on 4 December 1979.
Central Europe s in the German mines
Schacht Konrad (left) and
Schacht Asse II (right). In Germany, is the custom of bringing branches into the house on December 4 to bloom on Christmas. Saint Barbara is revered as a patroness saint of miners and in extension, the geosciences in general, including the tunneling industry. This connection is particularly strong in the Catholic areas of Germany, as for example
Bavaria. Some university geology departments hold annual 'Barbarafests' if not on the 4th then the closest Friday, or within
Baden-Württemberg, see
University of Tübingen,
University of Freiburg or
University of Bonn or applied geosciences of the
Technische Universität Darmstadt in
Hesse. In the
Czech Republic, a statue of Saint Barbara is placed near the future tunnel portal during the groundbreaking ceremony of most major tunneling projects, owing to her being the patroness saint of miners. In the town of
Kutná Hora, a former silver mining center, the cathedral is dedicated to Saint Barbara. , Silesia In Poland, the salt mine at
Wieliczka honours Saint Barbara in Saint Kinga's chapel. In France, due to the historic link between the firefighters and the military sappers, Saint Barbara is also the patroness of firefighters and has thus been celebrated by fire services throughout the country on December 4 since the
Third Republic.
Spain, Portugal and former colonies The Spanish military artillerymen, mining engineers and miners also venerate her as patroness saint. Parades, masses, dinners and other activities are held in her honour. , Colombia The City of
Santa Barbara, California, got its name from the early Spanish navigator
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. On December 4, the explorer stopped at a particular place on the California coast. He chose to name the spot after the patron of that day, Saint Barbara. A
Catholic missionary church, the
Mission Santa Barbara, was founded there on her feast day in 1786, and is one of the twenty-one such churches that were operated by the Franciscan Order and collectively known as the
California missions. The
Presidio of Santa Barbara was built in 1782, with the mission of defending the Second Military District in Spanish California.
Santa Barbara County was one of the twenty-seven original counties of California, formed in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county's territory was later divided to create
Ventura County in 1873. Other Spanish and Portuguese settlements named Santa Barbara were established in Brazil,
Chile,
Colombia,
Honduras, Mexico,
Venezuela, and the
Philippines. In the
Afro-Cuban religion of
Santería, Barbara is
syncretized with
Chango, the deity of fire, lightning, and thunder.
Eastern Europe, Eastern Orthodox Church In
Ukraine, alleged relics of Saint Barbara are kept in
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. A church of the Great Martyr Barbara () of
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is located near
Kyrylivskyi Hai () park in
Kyiv. In 2019 the
19th Missile Brigade of the
Ukrainian Ground Forces received the honorary title "Saint Barbara". In
Georgia, Saint Barbara's Day is celebrated as on December 17 (which is December 4 in the
old style calendar). The traditional festive food is , bread baked with a bean stuffing. In Greece and Cyprus, the day is celebrated by the Artillery Corps of the
Greek Army and the
Cypriot National Guard. Artillery camps throughout the two countries host celebrations in honor of the saint, where
loukoumades, a traditional sweet, are offered to soldiers and visitors, supposedly because they resemble cannonballs. Saint Barbara is also the patroness saint of the northern Greek city of
Drama, where a sweet called , which resembles a more liquid form of
koliva, is prepared and consumed on her feast day. In
North Macedonia Saint Barbara's day is celebrated by the
Eastern Orthodox, as on 17 December. Some Macedonians celebrate with their closest family and friends at home, while others refrain, believing that people who step in their house on Saint Barbara's day will give them either good or bad luck for the rest of the year. In
Armenia, a cave shrine to Saint Barbara (
Kuys Varvara) is located on the slopes of
Mount Ara and lit candles and flower garlands are used as tribute. Many churches in Russia are dedicated in her name, including one in Moscow, next to
Saint Basil's Cathedral, and in
Yaroslavl. ==The Order of Saint Barbara==