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| © Maria do Carmo Vieira-Montfils |
Versão em português
The elders say that Holy Week is usually the best time for maple syrup
production, no matter which
period of the year it occurs. At first glance, this seems to be a superstition or
a belief related to religion. But if we delve well into the origins of these
dates, we will see that it has a lot to do with nature itself, with the same
phenomena that govern seasons. The ancients were much closer to the natural
environment than we are today; they were great observers, like scientists.
We know that Holy Week does
not have a fixed date, it can vary from year to year and it is based on
calculations made for Easter. These calculations were determined by decision of
the Council of Nicaea in the year 325. They are not very simple. There are
formulas with algorithms to get the correct result, based on the lunar
calendar.
This subject is not familiar to me, this paragraph, somewhat lunatic for
me, is based on
Wikipedia. Voila... Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the fourteenth
day of the moon; the fourteenth day of the moon means the fourteenth day
counted from the new paschal moon; the paschal moon is a fictional moon quite
close to phases of the real moon. It is calculated using the Meton cycle, which
establishes that there are 235 lunar months over 19 tropical years (years of
the cycle of seasons); with a lag of one day every 218 years.
In practical terms, more down-to-earth, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the full
moon following March 21st. Other dates of the liturgy depend on it, among which
the Ash Wednesday, forty days before, and therefore also the carnival.
All this blah blah-blah to
say that this year Easter will be on April 21, so the Holy Week will begin in
almost three weeks. Everyone is worried because, in general, syrup production
is stronger in March; we are already at the end of March and weather conditions
are not good yet for the "Sugar Season".
- No syrup this year?
Take it easy! We cannot
forget that trees are still sleeping. If the ancients were right, the ideal
moment has not come yet.
~~~~
P.S.: To practice... the
first full moon after March 21st will be on April 19th and the following first
Sunday is April 21st - it is Easter. Interesting, isn't it?
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