Sainted weather...
The topics in Codiponte these days are two: Covid Lockdown or, the weather. Let’s talk about the weather. I haven’t belly-ached about it for a while…
it’s been raining for the last two months! The story…
You calls me about 10 times a day. A mainstay of our shared Lockdown since last February. The first call is usually around 8:30AM. I have already had one caffe’ and am working on a second when the iPhone squeals the arrival of his call. They are a forum for him to ask… Che tempo che fa… literally, What’s the weather?… but, in another sense of the Italian, it’s really to ask… What’s up? Well, more than a month ago… on December 2, 2020, to exact… You called at Our Anointed Morning Hour and I took his query as an opportunity to complain about the weather…
Pretty darn shitty, You. Cold and grey. IT’S RAINING!!! And, there’s a new Moon tonight too. Means we have to put up with this crappy weather for the next month, thanks to the phases stuff.
Va’ be’… buckle your belt… said You… because, besides la luna nuova, it’s also the onomastico for Saint Bibiana. The saint’s name day. You’ve got rain coming for the next 40 days.
What? Saints get an extension to the month-long climate change?
Go to go.
And, lo’ and behold, our weather has obeyed the saintly order of things. The January weather forecast is for continued rain to reach the 40 days!!!
Lately, we’ve enjoyed a rhythm of 6 days of cold, grey, rain, wind and 1 of semi-sunshine. Ephemeral is our Signor Sole. Covid-19 has taken a back seat along with Donald Trump, Brexit, the recent Christmas holidays. People are going nuts about the wet.
Who is Saint Bibiana? A virgin and martyr, of course. Wikipedia states 2 legends. One is soft-core suffering and the 2nd is XXL suffering to martyrdom. Let’s focus on the later. Bibiana was the daughter of a Roman Empire functionary, Flavianus, who unfortunately irritated his emperor by being a devout Christian. The emperor wanted to rid Rome of the scourge of Christianity, and so named one, Apronianus, as governor of the Eternal city, entrusted with the mandate to bring a hasty end to any Christian when and where found. Flavianus was discovered, tortured and banished. Bibiana’s mother, Dafrosa, was beheaded… which seems a bit unfair… while Bibiana and her sister, Demetria, were relegated to a life of poverty under house arrest. The two fasted and prayed. What else could they do? It didn’t end there. Apronianus was so appalled the two women could survived his punishment, he had the two women brought before him. Demetria confessed her Christian faith and promptly died at the governor’s sandalled feet. Saved herself a lot of trouble and pain, which fell upon Bibiana. She was turned over to a wicked-woman, who tried to seduce the poor virgin. Rejected, the vile female beat poor Bibiana yet, she steadfastly remained true to her faith, like her sister. Apronianus, furious, took the matter in his own hands and had the poor virgin dragged and tied to a pillar and viciously beaten until death. Bibiana’s body was then tossed to wild animals who refuse to touch it. Years later, Pope Semplicius conferred upon her a holy martyrdom. And, the martyr’s former house was consecrated as a church dedicated to her and her martyrdom. And, for all those sufferings, we are now paying penance with rain, rain, and more rain. Snow for tomorrow afternoon. Naturally. We’re in January.
