Tradizionalmente in Italia, specialmente qui al nord, gli ultimi tre giorni di Gennaio sono considerati i piu’ freddi dell’anno, anche se non e’ sempre meteorologicamente vero. A rafforzare questo convincimento, la leggenda della merla; che da sempre fa parte del nostro folklore.
In realta’ esistono molteplici versioni della storiella, forse una per regione; oggi vi racconto quella che mi piace di piu’. Una volta i merli erano tutti bianchi, con un piumaggio serico splendente. La merla in questione, ben sapendo che Gennaio e’ un mese freddissimo, decise di beffarlo facendo molte provviste di cibo e rimanendo nel suo bel nido per tutto il mese. A fine mese si decise ad uscire, svolazzo’ e canto’ un po’, convinta che fosse primavera, ma quando Gennaio la vide, chiese in prestito tre giorni a Febbraio e scateno’ una tal bufera di vento e neve che la povera merla dovette cercare rifugio in un comignolo per sopravvivere. Resto’ li’ nascosta per tutti e tre i giorni: sopravvisse, ma il suo candido piumaggio si sporco’ di fuliggine… e fu cosi’ che da allora tutti i merli nascono col piumaggio scuro.
Questa leggenda ha comunque un fondo di verita’: nell’antico calendario romano il mese di Gennaio aveva solo 29 giorni. Le foto sono state scattate nel nostro giardino questo Gennaio: il povero merlo cerca un po’ di cibo sotto la neve battente.
Lady Blackbird’s Days. In Italy, traditionally, the last three days of January are considered the coldest in the year – especially in the north. Of course it is not always true, as winter can be cold whenever. These days are named: Lady Blackbird’s days and the following short story from our folklore will tell you why.
Actually, there are many versions of this tale: today I’ll share my favourite one. Once upon a time, all blackbirds were white, with a fine silky plumage. Knowing how cold and boring January was, this female blackbird tried to deceive it by collecting plenty of food and staying in her warm nest all month long. When she thought that January was over, she flew out of the nest, singing happily. Soon January recognized her: he borrowed three days from February and sent the strongest blowing snowstorm ever! The poor blackbird had to find refuge into a chimney to survive. She stayed there for three long days, but when the storm abated and she came out of the chimney, her feathers were black with soot and ash. Since that day, blackbirds have dark plumage.
This tale contains a seed of truth: in the ancient Roman calendar, the month of January had only 29 days. Photos in this post were taken in our garden this January: the male blackbird is looking for some seeds under the beating snow.
Linked to: Saturday’s Critters. WATW.
Blackbirds are one of my favourite birds, we see them here throughout the year and I love listening to their song. Your story is most interesting!
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Thank you, Marleen. True is that blackbirds sing beautifully! Have a nice Sunday!
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Hello, I enjoyed the story of the Blackbird. They do stand out in the white snow. Pretty photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Sunday, enjoy your day and weekend!
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Poor blackbirds…they do cannot blend with the snowy background very much! Happy new week to you!
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Questa è la versione che sapevo pure io e quella che mi piace di più.
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Grazie, Paola. E’ una favola molto simpatica. Ti auguro una buona settimana!
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What a lovely post – I enjoyed and story and photos so much.
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Thank you very much, Carol. Have a nice week!
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Very interesting!
Like Marleen, I’m very fond of blackbirds. I w i s h we saw them more often!
Nothing helps my grumpy mornings like a blackbird song. 🙂
xx
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Sara, you made me smile with your grumpy mornings! So I wish you some blackbird will visit your garden everyday! Sempre felice di sentirti. Take care! xx
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how interesting!!
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Thank you very much!
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Lovely post….thank you!
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Thanks for your visit!
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Cute story of the black bird, one could tell a child – it would make perfect sense to them! Here it looks kind of lonely. Hope it found some friends! Many thanks for sharing how birds deal with the Seasons! Have a beautiful week!
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Thank you! This tale is part of our rural culture. Have a great week you too!
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Non conoscevo questa versione, grazie !
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Prego, Karl. Se ne impara ogni giorno una nuova…!
Buona settimana!
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