“Three Hoods” announcing three snowfalls, or when Lebanese traditions shape the weather
Nature has always been man’s ally, and our ancestors relied on it to predict the weather. So did the meteorologists of yesteryear. It was enough for our ancestors to observe the sky, its color, the shape of the clouds, the arrangement of the stars, the cycle of the moon, and even the flight of birds or the behavior of certain animals or insects, to determine the weather. ‘he will do.
This study of the sky through the elements of nature is not completely a thing of the past, since the sages in the villages of the Lebanese mountains preserve this ancestral knowledge. However, with the development of modern meteorology, the younger generations welcome, most often in disbelief, this wisdom from grandparents. Despite climate change likely to upset these convictions, the gurus of our hamlets in Lebanon continue to believe strongly in these age-old disciplines.
In light of these traditions, the first two months of the year are the most feared in terms of bad weather. Thus, a multitude of popular beliefs and proverbs have been devised in our villages to describe the winter period. Fishermen, for example, fear the quarantines starting on January 20, because fishing stops for forty days when temperatures drop, and fish stagnate in the depths of the sea in order to preserve their temperature.
However, a tradition almost unknown today, originating from monastic customs, and observed as a certainty, announces three major snowfalls between January and February. This tradition is referred to as “The tradition of the three hoods” ( Tlet Allousset- ثلاث ألّوسات ). Why such a name?
First, because between January and March, the Church commemorates three feasts of saints who are the main characters in its history: Saint Anthony the Great, father of monastic life, on January 17, Saint Ephrem celebrated on January 28 or Saint Symeon the old man, on February 3, and Saint Maroun, founder of Maronitism, on February 9. (Regarding the second hood, depending on the region, the designated Saint differs, although logic dictates that it is Saint Ephrem, a hooded monk rather than the old man of the New Testament). Second, because the monk’s hood resembles the shape of a snow-capped peak. Third, although the cold is not much appreciated by the Lebanese, but the snow has always been a grace that God sends, feeding the natural springs within the earth.
On the modern weather side, storms are announced for the next few days with heavy snowfalls which are likely to be repeated after ten days. Coincidence or not, our elders in our beautiful villages will proudly repeat that their certified traditions cannot lie, confirming that of the “Three Hoods”. Get warm over the next few days, and never forget our beautiful Lebanese traditions, because, according to a beautiful saying from home, “he who does not know where he comes from, will never know where he will “.
By Marie-Josee Rizkallah
