St Blaise is the patron saint of sore throats, and one of the most popular saints of all time. A mother came to the Bishop, asking him to cure her son, who was choking on the fishbone, stuck in his throat. The Bishop saved the boy with his prayer and with the sign of the cross. On this day, many people receive a blessing of the throat. Two blessed candles (unlit!) are tied or held together in the form of a St Andrew’s cross and applied to the throat, as the priest pronounces a special invocation to St Blaise, asking him to protect the individual from diseases of the throat.