December 22 -- Feast of Saint Zeno of Nicomedia

Mea Culpa.  Mea maxima culpa.  I got so wrapped up in the holiday prep that I neglected to put up a saint for the 12/22.  So here it is, late, for no more than minimal credit. 

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Saint Zeno of Nicomedia was present for a sacrifice to the goddess Ceres.  The Emperor Diocletian himself was presiding over the sacrifice.  It was probably not the best time to start cracking jokes.  Moreover, no one likes it when someone laughs loudly at his own jokes.  Least of all an Emperor who is trying to hold his vast and diverse kingdoms together. 

A punch was thrown.  A jaw was broken.  The laughter stopped and the sacrifice continued.

The day's festivities were followed up by an execution, of course.  There's no record of method or level of pain, but one would expect a little bit of warm-up would have taken place, if only to serve as a warning to others.

Since I have found no images of this particular saint named Zeno, I offer another famous broken jaw.  Apparently, during this famous fight with Joe Frazier,  Cassius Clay (as he was known then) kept repeating "I'm God."  That's the sort of blasphemy that might get your jaw broken and your championship title taken away.