18.3.10

What’s in a Name?


In these days of increasing hysteria surrounding climate change, fanned by scientific fact and a not insignificant amount of hot air, it is maybe comforting to find that the peasant wisdom of folk lore continues to hold good.

If you had been under the (erroneous) impression that Spring begins on March 21st, think again – at least if you are living in Hungary. March 15th signals the onset of Spring, so long-awaited after the dark, dismal winter months. Allowing for slight hiccoughs (the sprinkling of soggy snow the morning of the 16th this year was an unpleasant surprise!) there is almost always a marked rise in temperatures around this date.

However, though it is difficult to outdo a revolution (March 15th), most weather forecasting is linked to Name Days in Hungary. I have not yet discovered another country where the saints days are celebrated in this way – all Hungarians have a name day, and it is often this – rather than a birthday, usually a family affair – which is celebrated by acquaintances and colleagues. All calendars list the names allotted to the days of the year, and some of the more prominent names (Mária, János etc.) have several. Many flower shops display name days in their windows, eager to remind you in case you had not consulted the calendar or listened to the radio that morning, (name days, including their origins, are given on the early morning radio programmes).

March 18th, 19th and 21st mark the days of the saints which bring us warmth in their sacks: Sándor, József, Benedek, zsákban hoznak be a meleget. A quick look at the web pages forecasting weather in the coming days confirm the rhyme. Similarly, though May can be gloriously warm, there remains the ever-present threat of the freezing saints, fagyos szentek: Pongrác, Szervác and Bonifác, on May 12th, 13th and 14th. If not actually freezing, these days are often marked by cooler and frequently rainy weather. If you are hoping for a white Christmas, the day to watch is Katalin nap on November 25th. As the saying goes, if this day is wet then Christmas will be frozen ( and vice-versa). Interestingly, June 8th, Medárd, is ascribed the same properties as St. Swithin’s (July 15th) in Britain – should it rain on this day then 40 more days of rain will follow, or conversely, if the day be fine, 40 days of drought will ensue. Many more folk weather predictions, particularly associated with farming and harvests,exist, though with a more urban lifestyle, are rapidly being forgotten.

Some years ago, when teaching at a university English department, in order to qualify for the small addition to my salary a pass would occasion, I was persuaded to sit for the advanced level state language exam in Hungarian. The examination date was set for May 16th, a warm day but with relentlessly heavy rain. On leaving the flat and locking the door, umbrella at hand, my elderly neighbour appeared, ready to go to market. “Awful weather!” I said. “Well,” she replied, “you know the saying: Májusi eső aranyat ér,” (May rain is worth gold). I did not know it, and found little consolation for my soggy departure in the fact that farmers would be happy.
On arriving at the exam centre I was presented with the first part of the test: a 50-question multiple-choice paper on grammar, vocabulary and miscellaneous other items. Question twenty-three had me chuckling silently to myself with what would have passed as exam-nerve hysteria; it said: Complete the saying: Májusi eső....

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