Well, not actually frosts but a cold and miserable period here in the Loire Valley. I am stuck with aubergines, courgettes, peppers, chillis and tomato plants that need to be in the ground. The wise women of the Baugeios are shaking their heads however and say don't do anything until after "les saints glace". I nod sagely with them (my ambition is to one day be a wise woman of the Baugeois - nothing to do with being a midwife incidentally), but have been a bit confused by this. Note the clever use of language there - sagely in this sense is wisely, and the french for wise is sage, however a sage femme is a midwife - so now you know!
Anyway, I needed to understand a bit more about this Saint Glace thing, so followed the link on the Meteo France website - here is what they have to say on the subject, translated into English.
There are three ice or frost saints, St Mamert (11th May), St Pancras (12th May) and St Servais (13th May).
According to popular tradition, they had the reputation for bringing cold and frost, the signature of a final attack by Winter, hence the saying “Saints Servais, Pancras and Mamert – these three bring a brief winter”. According to popular belief, once this period has passed, there should be no more frosts.
Most modern calendars however mention three other saints for these three days – Estelle, Achilles and Roland. This change dates from 1960, when the Catholic Church decided to “replace” these 3 famous saints associated with the seasonal problems of gardeners.
I think it was a bit mean of the Church to get rid of this important calendar link for gardeners and probably rather bad marketing as well, and however much they try, everyone is still talking about the Saints Glaces. While I am not totally convinced by a St Servais, he sounds more probable than a St Achilles as well, but what do I know?
We had rain, hail and sleet yesterday!
Posted by: Anne Donald | 13 May 2010 at 08:39 PM