January and February were busy months in our home. We were celebrating our birthdays and since there are not many holidays in Czech or Slovak Republic there has not been much going on. In February, we have a holiday called Hromnice. This holiday is similar to the Groundhog Day and it is celebrated on February 2nd.
The Czech word Hromnice is derived from sanctified "hromnice" candles that were lit on the night of February 2nd if there was a thunderstorm (thunder = hrom).[1] There are similar sayings that predict how long the winter will be based on February 2nd some of them are [1]:
- Svítí-li slunce na Hromnice, bude zimy o šest neděl více.
- If the sun is shining on Hromnice, there will be six more weeks of winter.
- Hromnice-li jasné, čisté, potrvá déle zima jistě. Pakli sněží nebo hřímá, jaro jistě v blízku dlívá.
- If Hromnice is bright and clear, winter is sure to linger. If there is snow or thunder, spring must
be near.
be near.
- Jihne-li na Hromnice, přilož do kamen; mrzne-li, po zimě amen.
- If the snow is melting on Hromnice, add more wood to the fire; if it's freezing, the winter is over.
- O Hromnicích déšť - na jaře sníh; o Hromnicích sníh - na jaře déšť.
- Rain on Hromnice - snow in the spring; snow on Hromnice - rain in the spring.
- Zelené Hromnice - bílé velikonoce.
- Green Hromnice - white Easter.
Easter iscoming in April and there are many traditions to write about. So I will be sharing more with you in April.
No comments:
Post a Comment