The Grisly 'Origin Story' Behind the Perseid Meteor Shower

"[A] superstition has 'for ages' existed among the Catholics of some parts of England and Germany, that the burning tears of St. Lawrence are seen in the sky on the night of the 10th of August; this day being the anniversary of his martyrdom."

So who was Saint Lawrence? According to Christian tradition, he was an early deacon of the church who was put to death on August 10 in A.D. 258 under the orders of the Roman emperor Valerian.

In a suitably gory end for a Christian martyr, it's claimed that the deacon was literally grilled to death over hot coals, and that he had the temerity before his death to tell his pagan torturers that he was "done" on one side and to turn him over.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-perseids-meteor-shower-august-skywatching-moon-space/