Tomorrow is Christmas. And the day after tomorrow, we can continue digestion and rest, because it will be Sunday, but it is also a public holiday, only in Alsace and Moselle. It will be the Staffesdàà, Saint Etienne (Stéphane and Etienne, same root) Etienne, the first martyr in the history of Christianity.
But it used to be a holiday because the contracts for laborers or farm workers very often went until Christmas. If someone wanted to change boss, he prepared his Bendele, his bundle and could go and negotiate with his future boss. December 26 is also called Bendeledàà in Alsace, the day of the bundle. December 26 was non-working in France until 1905, but we were German at the time, and we wanted to keep this advantage in 1918. Sunday also starts the little year, s’kleine Johr. A strange period of 12 days, from December 26 to January 6 where each day corresponds to a month of the new year (January for December 26, February for December 27…).
Anything can happen, good or bad. Take care. My grandmother never went out at night during Räuijnacht, the days and nights are microcosms where minds cross, sails split, a month in a day, realize how precipitous events can be. During the Little Year, misfortune – or happiness – happened so quickly. As each day counts as a month, it is customary that by observing each day of the Little Year, one can predict the weather for the corresponding month of the new year. We will come back to this, it is about onions, hydrometry and very precise readings.
Merry Christmas to everyone !