Saint Barbara, known as the Great Martyr Barbara in the Orthodox church, was a Christian saint and martyr, who lived in the third century.

Her story
St. Barbara is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (also known as Helpers in Need). Her association with lightning has caused her to be invoked against lightning and fire; by association, she is also the patron of artillery and mining. Her feast is celebrated on December 4 in the Tridentine use of the Roman Catholic Liturgy; in the 1969 reformed Roman Catholic liturgical calendar her public cultus was suppressed to a purely local celebration, and her name was dropped from the litany of saints.
Orthodox Christians have never ceased to venerate St. Barbara, among whom she remains very popular. Her feastday continues to be celebrated on December 4 throughout the Orthodox world. In the 12th century, the relics of St. Barbara were brought from Constantinople to the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev, where they were kept until the 1930s, when they were transferred to St. Vladimir's Cathedral in the same city.
In the Spanish language, the word santabárbara means the magazine of a ship or fortress. It was customary to have a statue of Saint Barbara at the magazine to protect the ship or fortress from suddenly exploding. She is the namesake of the U.S. city of Santa Barbara, California, located approximately 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Franciscan mission there is named in her honor. There were many churches dedicated in her name in Russia, including the one in Moscow next to Saint Basil's Cathedral and in Yaroslavl.

Validity of her legend

She plays a central role in the Jimmy Buffett bestseller, A Salty Piece of Land.
She is depicted in art as standing by a tower with three windows, carrying a palm branch and a chalice; sometimes cannons are depicted by her side.
Because of her identification with lightning and cannonry, in Santería she is identified with the god Shango, god of lightning and war.
For similar reasons, Robert A. Heinlein, in his book Space Cadet, named her the patron saint of people who deal with high explosives, and therefore rocketmen. The launch field at the academy is named for her, and following the crash of a training flight, a mass is said in her honor.
The Order of Saint Barbara is a military honor society of the US for both the US Army and the US Marine Corps Artillery, including field artillery and Air Defense Artillery.
Saint Barbara is referenced in the song "Don't Let Me Explode" by the rock band The Hold Steady. Before performing the song at 2006's Lollapalooza music festival, lead singer Craig Finn told the story of Saint Barbara to the crowd of several thousand fans. He compared being a Christian in her time to having facial tattoos.
A painting similar to the van Eyck shown below is featured in Elizabeth George's "A Place of Hiding," but is attributed to a later Dutch painter, Pieter van Hooch.
The painting in the upper right corner of this page entitled "Saint Barbara in her tower" appears in science historian James Burke's book "Connections" at page 158 and is used to illustrate various scientific advances that had been made at the time depicted in the 1438 painting.
Saint Barbara became the patron saint of artillerymen. She is also traditionally the patron of armourers, gunsmiths, miners and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives. She is invoked against thunder and lightning and all accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder. St. Barbara's Day, 4 December, may be celebrated by British (Royal Artillery) and Canadian (Royal Canadian Artillery) artillery formations, units and sub-units with church parades, sports days, guest nights, cocktail parties, open house, and other activities.
The first Spanish-language TV Novela filmed in the US and in full color, was the 1973 production of Santa Barbara, Virgen y Martir, filmed entirely on location in Hialeah, Florida. See also
Saint Barbara flees from her father, by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1620)
The Holy Family with Saint Barbara and young Saint John, by Paolo Veronese (c. 1565)
Saint Barbara, by Jan van Eyck (c. 1437)
Traditional holy card design for Saint Barbara
A Greek Orthodox Church ikon of Saint Barbara.
Saint Barbara by Corrado Parducci