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The Ice Saints are St. Mamertus (or, in some countries, St. Boniface of Tarsus), St. Pancras, and St. Servatius. They are so named because their feast days fall on the days of May 11, May 12, and May 13 respectively, known as the blackthorn winter [ verification needed ] in Austrian, Belgian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, North-Italian, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Swiss folklore.
In parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the period from May 12 to May 15 is often believed to bring a brief spell of colder weather in many years, including the last nightly frosts of the spring. Pupils of Galileo confirmed this weather pattern for the years 1655-70 and reported a marked cold snap over the days of the Ice Saints. However, in 1902 William Dines, President of the Royal Meteorological Society, used modern statistical techniques to demonstrate that the Ice Saints were a myth, brought about by selective reporting. On the other hand, a review of Kew Gardens data from 1941 to 1969 showed that 13 May was usually the warmest day of the month, and was followed by a sharp drop in temperature. [1]
St. Mamertus is not counted amongst the Ice Saints in certain countries (Southern Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Czech Republic, etc.), whereas St. Boniface of Tarsus belongs to them in other countries (Flanders, Liguria, Czech Republic, etc.) as well; St. Boniface's feast day falling on May 14. St. Sophia, nicknamed Cold Sophia (German kalte Sophie) on May 15 can be added in Germany, Alsace (France), Poland, etc.
In Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Ice Saints are St. Pancras, St. Servatius and St. Boniface of Tarsus (i.e., May 12 to May 14). To the Poles, the trio are known collectively as zimni ogrodnicy (cold gardeners) and are followed by zimna Zośka (cold Sophia) on the feast day of St. Sophia, which falls on May 15. In Czech, the three saints are collectively referred to as "ledoví muži" (ice men or icy men) and St. Sophia is known as "Žofie, ledová žena" (Sophia, the ice woman).
In Sweden, the German legend of the Ice Saints has resulted in the belief that there are special "järnnätter" (Swedish for "iron nights") especially in early June, which are susceptible to frost. The term may have arisen out of a mistranslation of German sources, where the term "Eismänner" (German for "ice men") was read as "Eisenmänner" (German for "iron men") and their nights then termed "iron nights," which then became shifted from May to June. [2]
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is similar to the formation of dew, except it occurs below the freezing point of water typically without crossing through a liquid state.
Plzeň, also known in English and German as Pilsen, is a city in the Czech Republic. About 78 kilometres west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 186,000 inhabitants, and about 323,184 people in its urban area.
Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox churches that adhere to the Julian calendar mark Saint Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which places it on 9 January of the Gregorian calendar used in secular contexts. In Latin Christian denominations, Saint Stephen's Day marks the second day of Christmastide.
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Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer occurring near the date of the summer solstice which is known in solar reckoning as the mid-point of the season. As the precise date of the summer solstice can vary from year to year, different traditions may celebrate or fix Midsummer at different dates or under different names occurring on or around the actual solstice. A variety of traditions have developed often rooted in regional, spiritual, or religious practices. Traditionally, Midsummer is on the first Saturday after June 20th, though it is often celebrated on Midsummer's Eve, on the day before.
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of the term varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. At the spring equinox, days and nights are approximately twelve hours long, with daytime length increasing and nighttime length decreasing as the season progresses until the Summer Solstice in June and December.
Weather lore is the body of informal folklore related to the prediction of the weather and its greater meaning.
Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 6 December ) in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra; it falls within the season of Advent. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to Saint Nicholas' reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of church services.
The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. Since 2021, the team has been officially known in English as Czechia. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It is governed by the Czech Ice Hockey Association. The Czech Republic has 85,000 male players officially enrolled in organized hockey.
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a biblical character or other saint. Where they are popular, individuals celebrate both their name day and their birthday in a given year.
Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is Greek (Πανκράτιος) and means "all-powerful".
May 13 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 15
Mamertus was the bishop of Vienne in Gaul, venerated as a saint. His primary contribution to ecclesiastical practice was the introduction of litanies prior to Ascension Day as an intercession against earthquakes and other disasters, leading to "Rogation Days." His feast day is the first of the Ice Saints.
Saint Servatius was bishop of Tongeren. Servatius is patron saint of the city of Maastricht and the towns of Schijndel and Grimbergen. He is one of the Ice Saints. His feast day is May 13.
Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, and historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it was an important festival in many parts of Europe, particularly Germanic-speaking regions. In these regions, it marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter and the "winter revelling season". Traditions include feasting on 'Martinmas goose' or 'Martinmas beef', drinking the first wine of the season, and mumming. In some German and Dutch-speaking towns, there are processions of children with lanterns (Laternelaufen), sometimes led by a horseman representing St Martin. The saint was also said to bestow gifts on children. In the Rhineland, it is also marked by lighting bonfires.
Urban of Langres was a Gallo-Roman saint and bishop. He served as the sixth bishop of Langres from 374 until his death. Leodegaria was his sister.
Saint Sophia of Rome is venerated as a Christian martyr. She is identified in hagiographical tradition with the figure of Sophia of Milan, the mother of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity, whose veneration is attested for the sixth century.
Sophia, also spelled Sofia, is a feminine given name, from Greek Σοφία, Sophía, "Wisdom". Other forms include Sophie, Sophy, and Sofie. The given name is first recorded in the beginning of the 4th century. It is a common female name in the Eastern Orthodox countries. It became very popular in the West beginning in the later 1990s and became one of the most popularly given girls' names in the Western world in the first decades of the 21st century.
Saint Boniface of Tarsus was, according to legend, executed for being a Christian in the year 307 at Tarsus, where he had gone from Rome in order to bring back to his mistress Aglaida relics of the martyrs.
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