Blaise was bishop of Sebaste in Armenia. He was martyred under Licinius around 316. Cures were attributed to him and it is the custom in many places to bless throats on his feast. His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages.
Ansgar or Anskar was born in France in 801. He was educated in the monastery of Corbie. In 826 he preached the faith in Denmark with little success but later laboured to greater effect in Sweden. Appointed bishop of Hamburg by Pope Gregory IV, he was sent as a legate to Denmark and Sweden. He spent 13 years preaching the Gospel there, laying the foundations of the Church in these places, even though there were later relapses into paganism. He died in 865. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012