Today, October 25th, marks St. Crispin's Day, a day that
traditionally has been celebrated as the feast day for the
patron saints of shoemakers, Saint Crispin and his brother Saint
Crispianus. The story of these two brothers has become somewhat
obscured by the passage of time, but legend has it that the two
saints were sons of a 3rd century patrician Roman family who
converted to Christianity. Disinherited because of their
religious choice, they turned to shoemaking to make a living. In
order to try to escape the persecution of Christians in Rome.
the two brothers moved to Soisson, France where they began
preaching and making shoes for the poor. Their charity and pious
activities became well known and soon their activities were
noticed by Roman authorities had them arrested. According to
legend, the brother's refusal to deny Christianity resulted in
numerous tortures. First they were fitted with millstones around
their necks and thrown in a river, but miraculously the stones
fell away and they swam to safety.