Weather - If on St. Stephen’s Day
there is much wind, it betokens a bad grape harvest next year, and the wine
will be poor. [Boo. What if it's only a little wind? A barely-move-the-branches wind?]
Weather today foretells the
weather of February.
If the sun shines on the
second day of Christmas, then money will be easily come by. [come on, sunshine!]
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Returning to the traditions
concerning horses and St. Stephen’s day, today was a great day for racing. The horses might be ridden to church
and there raced four or five times around it, while the priest blessed the
animals and sprinkled Holy Water on them.
In Munich, up to 1876, men on horseback would ride three times around
the interior of the church [obviously,
no pews had invaded the building]. In another German district, the winner of the early
morning race was called “Steffen” and honored throughout the day, most noteably
at the local inn.
In southern Denmark, stablehands
would visit their colleagues at other farms early in the morning, groom their
horses together, and then ride around the farmyards making a great deal of
noise until the inhabitants woke up, upon which the noisemakers were treated to
beer and liquor [the thus rudely awakened inhabitants were much more lenient than I would be, trust me.] In Sweden, 1:00
am (0100) saw a frenzied race to a spot where the water flowed northward. The horse who first drank “the cream of
the water” was expected to flourish all the year; his rider was treated to a
more potent potable than Adam’s Ale.
In Sweden also, bands of youths would race before daybreak from one
village to the next, waking the good folk with their noise, for which they
expected to be rewarded with ale and spirituous drinks.
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This is also Boxing Day, the
first weekday after Christmas. A
very good time to remember all those who have given you good service throughout
the year – the postal delivery person, the kid who pumps your gas for you, the church secretary,
your veterinarian, the auto mechanic or plumber who can always managed to fit
you into their schedules when it’s an emergency... I'm sure you can think of people to thank. A mince pie is traditional, but cookies work... or maybe something in the line of filled chocolates (the filling is up to you.)
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Last year, the recipe in
honor of St. Stephen was “Dublin Rock”, but if you don’t feel up to the
challenge, make cupcakes (your choice of flavors and frostings) and top with
those hard candies that are decorated to look like small rocks or pebbles [you can find them in some of the larger
craft stores, or wedding or bakery supply stores. They can also be ordered online, but obviously not in time
for today’s treat.] There is
also that breakfast cereal in the shape of pebbles, or you can make rocks out of marzipan.
