St Luke’s day occurs on 18th October and although St Luke is the patron saint of surgeons and doctors, he is also traditionally associated with lovers. On St Luke’s day girls used to annoint themselves with marigold (a flower representing fertility, but also a strong healing plant) and hoped they would dream of their future husband that night.
In the UK we also traditionally referred to a period of unseasonally warm weather in October as St Luke’s summer, although the North American term Indian summer is now replacing this older name.
St Lukes day was also known as Dog Whipping Day where stray dogs were whipped out of the villages and towns. Thankfully this custom has now died out, although in some areas of Northern England it continued into Victorian times.