Les Saints de Glace

May is a month of contradictory folk wisdom. On one hand, the end of the proverb I quoted about April says “En mai fait ce qu’il te plait” (in May, do as you please). That suggests that cold rainy April is over and all should be warm and bright. But this is also the month of “les Saints de glace” (the icy Saints). Though Vatican II dismissed Saint Mamert (May 11th) Saint-Pancrace (May 12th) and Saint-Servais (May 13th) from the calendar of Saints, French farmers and gardeners – and even city dwellers who have never grown a plant in their lives – know that cold, even freezing, temperatures are still likely until these days are over.
This year the Saints arrived early and stayed late.
On May 4th there was enough snow to close airports and roads in the south of France. Later that day, a storm along the Riviera swept sand from the beaches, sunk boats and broke some beachfront cafés into matchsticks. Since then it’s just been cold and cloudy everywhere.
Perhaps in reaction to the weather, I’ve been in somewhat of a state of hibernation since the end of April -- doing all the things that are on my calendar but not seeking anything extra. I’ve been “doing what I please” in the comfort of my home and waiting, like a hothouse plant, for the “Saints de glace” to be on their way.
It’s not like nothing happens during the first two weeks of May.
May 1st is always fun – especially because two very different celebrations take place that day. It’s an ancient custom to give people sprigs of muguet (lily-of-the-valley) for luck on May 1st. People in the country can gather it themselves; others have to buy theirs. Of course, florists are happy to oblige but, on every street corner, ordinary people sell sprigs and bouquets, too – the only time of the year one can sell without a pedlar’s licence.





Since 1941, May 1st has also been the Fête de Travail (Labor Day) leading to another ritual – the May Day March. There’s always something the government is doing wrong and members of all the different trade unions as well as thousands of ordinary people march for hours on the afternoon of May 1st to let them know about it.






I went out to buy my muguet this year – luck is always good to have – but I skipped the March. Those pictures are from last year.
One week after the 1st of May is another holiday marking the end of World War II in Europe. It’s only been a public holiday since 1981, though commemoration ceremonies were held before then. Such a young holiday has no rituals except among people who remember the end of the war. But everyone is glad to have a day off. This year, it fell on a Saturday and was just another weekend for most. It happened to be our choir’s spring weekend choir practice. The evening of May 8th we sang and danced, though few were remembering World War II. Hopefully those who fought for our freedom were happy to know we were enjoying it.




Last weekend was Ascension. The holiday is on Thursday but most people also have Friday off – the famous French “pont” or “bridge” when there’s one day between a holiday and the weekend. Not a fortunate bridge this year as you can see.




But this morning the sun is peeping out and part of the sky is blue.

By the weekend, it will be sunny and 24° (that’s 73°F for you Americans). Time to stop hibernating!