Mardi 15 mai 2012
2
15
/05
/Mai
/2012
09:33
All you "outdoorsy" types - have you noticed we are going through a cold spell despite the brilliant sunshine and you think the weather should be warming up for
summer?
One traditional explanation is that the earth is going through a dust cloud at this time of year and the rays of sun are being blocked. According to the Wikipedia
link below, this explanation is debatable.
Don't despair, we must be coming out of it now. You can safely put away your winter woollies, plant your seeds (garderners, that is) and look forward to a real
Spring!
A little bit of digging has thrown up these useful links:
http://velcomefisitor.blogspot.com/2010/05/eisheiligen-ice-saints-saints-de-glace.html
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_de_glace
and this interesting article from http://www.gitesandmore.co.uk/Saint%20Glaces.htm
LES SAINTS DE GLACE (The Ice Saints)
"Les Saints-Servais, Pancrace, Mamert,
Font à eux trois un petit hiver."
Saint Mamert, St Pancras and Saint Servais - Les Saints de Glace
Since the Middle Ages in France and a great part of Europe, farmers have invoked the help of Les Saints de Glace - the Ice Saints to help guard their crops from the
sudden frosts that can occur on the 11th, 12th and 13th of May. There are a variety of explanations for this phenomenon but no one is quite clear why the weather can change for this short period.
One moment the weather is warming then during this brief period there can be a mini winter when gardeners are advised to protect their plants from the cold until this time ends.
These dates coincide with a change in the appearance of the moon which is known in France as a lune rousse. In 2012 the lune rousse starts on 21 April and is to
finish on 20th May. The term "rousse" refers to "roussir" - damage to unprotected plants by ice which turns the new shoots brown. The period follows Easter when the nights are often
cloudless.
Gardeners and growers respect these days in France as well as other European countries.
Traditionally the first Ice Saint was Saint Mamert (Saint Mamertus) who was celebrated on May 11th.
May 12th was the feast day of Saint.Pancrace (Saint Pancras)
This was followed by Saint Servais (Saint Servatius) on May 13th.
Saint Mamertus was the Archbishop of Vienne in Gaul who introduced litanies prior to Ascension Day to intercede against climatic disasters. It is believed that he
came from a wealthy family in Lyon. He died in Arles in AD 475.
Saint Pancras was a Roman who converted to Christianity and was beheaded at the age of fourteen in AD 304.
Saint Servatius died in AD 384 and was considered a great diplomat.
Les Saints de Glace follow the Cavaliers de Froid, otherwise known as Grands Chevaliers whose feast days are from 23rd April to 6th May. These are the days of cold
between the end of winter and late spring.
In 1960 the Catholic Church decided to rename the Saints and Saint Mamertius was replaced by Saint Estelle, St Pancras by Saint Achilles and Saint Servatius by
Sainte Rolande. This may have been due to a belief that the new saints days would remove what was probably a pagan tradition.
