chronicle the weather and the seasons, festivals and traditions of the sayings
"While in their perverse works
Men are panting
Mars laughs despite showers
Prepares secretly Spring. "
These lines of Theophilus Gautier once again take a particular resonance and full current political environment in our French. I will not comment otherwise I too indignant at the way Stéphane Hessel, because there are times when you wonder if it is still a little common sense and honesty in our world.
order not to give in to pessimism I prefer to steer this column around the spring is going to happen and poets which this month is dedicated.
I recall first that this is not a recent invention that dedicating this month to poets and not a recent creation with a government of our republic appropriates a bit faster authorship, like that of the music festival. long ago that poets have sung the month of March and spring. Furetiere in his Universal Dictionary says: "spring is summer, the temperate season, the new season, the green season ." And he said that poets use the season word to mean time.
exists in our region of the south a lovely story that goes back to those times not very distant when you could laugh and write. Not a village that has its narrator or his local scholar. Television has made it a bit away. But close to home, at the limit of Gard and Herault, Lunel, a city near Sommières known for its vagaries river Vidourle to mood swings so feared called the "vidourlades" persists an old tradition that has such a close relationship with the moon that I make a point of telling you. The older readers of these reviews have already read from my pen! Too bad. It's too beautiful and it is the month of poets. There are Lunel a famous school of poets, Pescalunes. Henry terminal member of the French Academy (1825-1901) born in Lunel was one of them. Here's how this school of "fishers of moon came to the French Academy. Edmond Rostand elected to chair No. 31, that of Henry terminal, so did his eulogy in his acceptance speech under the dome, giving the letters of nobility to "Pescalunes"
"Gentlemen, do you know what it's like fishing for the moon? It is a kind of fishing that is practiced in Lunel. I thought I saw on the banks of Vidourle achieve stealth an entire people fishing at night, carrying strange hawks. The moon shines in water. Nets fall, it disappears ... Oh! The pretty fishing! Sometimes, perhaps, by taking it very gently, ever does one see this glow and throb bream through the cracks, but when one wants to pull itself, it slips back, escapes , stretches in wrinkles rippling, and only reappears and round ironic, that when water is again smooth. Gentlemen, you understood that people are poets Lunel: They fish the moon. It is the finest fishing in the world because it is the only one that can never be in troubled waters. "
Here is a version of this story that my preference:
"With the reawakening of nature, and probably since Valentine's Day, two young people loved each of Lunel. Ninon, loved Albin. Albin Ninon loved ... but their parents would not hear of marriage as Albin was of Jewish origin. It is known that the presence of Jews in Lunel is attested since at least the eleventh century. Here we find the famous dynasty Tibbonides Lunel. Jews from the nearby Spain, fleeing the caliphate? or Jews from Jericho - city of the moon-which would have founded the town of Lunel under Emperor Vespasian The first interpretation seems more plausible.
It happened that the Baron Gaulcem, lord and master of the house gave a party. After the festivities late into the night, dead drunk, the Baron made a horrible nightmare. The moon, overcome by the sun, had been driven out of heaven forever. Maybe it was due to a sudden change of weather so common in March. Distraught, he rushed at night in the street. There he met the two young men. - Who had lingered, probably because they had much to say ...! Albin, to reassure him said he had seen the moon in the middle of the water in the canal (this is the Canal du Midi passes there .. well almost since it was not widened at that time!) Las Baron realized that she drowned them. A great uproar, he mobilized the population, it was try to pick the moon, with a basket on the line of a fishing rod ... Curiously, the sun disappeared each time you threw the trash in the water. Rabbi Lunel, which protected the young men, then had a brilliant idea: he declared that only marriages of Ninon and Albin allow the star to regain his place. Parents, before public pressure, had to quickly give their consent before the moon shall not drown. So Albin, raised his eyes and began a long incantation, and the sun rose slowly in the sky, leaving Lunel and its inhabitants, a souvenir and a beautiful legend. "
With poets cultivate our garden and see what the moon in March and we are preparing throughout this month. March you know, is marked by the influence of the sun at equinox. It intersects the celestial equator. Day and night are of equal duration, so is the etymology of the word "equinox Her regular course, the same year, his time of rule over us, its radiation, temperature, rising the sap, and thus the seasons. But it steadily begins to collide with different rhythm of the moon, rhythm that I've often maintained here. Hence some changes with sometimes surprising and sometimes the weather that makes us believe that the bad days are over and sometimes bursts of bad weather that make serious damage to vegetation, trees and plants, because having too advanced nature, must be quickly disillusioned. March has not, in fact, the best reputations. It gave birth, his pranks, many of proverbs and sayings. "What March smoldering, we know after the thirty-first day. " or " Either at the beginning or at the end, Mars will show its venom. ". The are early days for the month of March 2011 will be rather cold with temperatures below freezing in the morning at sunrise, until the new moon of 4 when she will be at the peak of his race around the earth. But there will be sunshine and the days are quite nice, well above seasonal norms " when Mars is transformed into summer, takes his clothes stuffed in April. " Or: " When March is April, April's March! " The sleet and rain, with wind probably will take over around Full Moon 19 and the equinox of March 20. This will cause tidal coefficients highest for the next six months, with 117 on 20 and 118. We say that a flood of 120 is "exceptional." From show in perspective.
The lunar node of 25 will bring a new change of time corresponding to "the old days " or "cow days " the famous ; " Vaqueirieu " which I recalled the story last year.
After a start though in the cold but with bright sunshine in March we could few surprises towards the end of the month.
Between 13 and 25 lunar curve is rising. This will be the ideal time for the famous March sizes, " early size, size later, nothing beats the size of March " especially for retracting the roses and prune vines. After March 25 in the waning moon will be time for planting.
Anyway, the weather is good or bad, we will advance our watches and clocks one hour, 27. This decision attributed to a president of our republic draws its origins in ancient observations the most original are those made by Benjamin Franklin and published by the Journal de Paris "from his speech entitled "An economial" in which he dealt with energy conservation natural. It begins by describing the demonstration of a new lamp oil, which he had attended the previous day. He relates the discussion that ensued about the ratio of oil consumed / generated light. Topic in mind, he comes home and sleep at 3-4 am. A noise woke him up around 6 am and he was surprised with great clarity in his room. He thinks first of the famous oil lamps on the eve of the demonstration, illuminating the room. But finds, in fact, that it is the rays of the rising sun entering the room. Reading an almanac he confirms that the sun will rise even more and earlier until late June.
" This event made me think about things more important and more serious. If I had not been awakened so early the morning, I slept six hours longer to sunlight, and, cons, have spent six hours the next night to light candles . "
And he continues:" In Assuming that there are 100,000 families in Paris and that these families consume the night 1 / 2 pound of candles and candle day ... By estimating 6 to 8 hours the average time between the hours of sunrise and ours ... so there are 7 hours per night during which we burn candles, you get to the following statement: In six months between March 20 and September 20, there are 183 nights. 7 hours per night of use candle. The multiplication gives 1281 hours. These 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000 gives 128,100,000.
Each candle requires half pound of tallow and wax, making a total of 64,050,000 pounds. At a price of thirty sols per pound of tallow and wax it comes to tournaments 96,075,000 book. "And he concludes by not" ... a huge sum that the city of Paris might save every year! " but with this sentence:" people are stubbornly attached to their old traditions and it will be difficult to get them to rise before midi . He then proposes solutions Coercive
1) Taxing a louis per window residents who leave their shutters closed.
2) Candles rationed to one pound per family per week.
3) police officers to stop traffic after sunset except those of physicians, surgeons and midwives.
4) Every morning when the sun rises, church bells and, if necessary, canon inform the citizenry of the arrival of light.
An old proverb Occitan us to the same gesture of economy: " Oou my March, lou Caleu're down "While it is the oil of oil lamps, but it may be a good resolution to take for the month of March! Adissias!
Jean Mignot February 28, 2011
