The Ice Saints are St.

Mamertus Mamertus (died c. 475) was the bishop of Vienne in Gaul, venerated as a saint. His primary contribution to ecclesiastical practice was the introduction of litanies prior to Ascension Day as an intercession against earthquakes and other disasters, ...

, St. Pancras, and St. Servatius (and in some countries,

Saint Boniface of Tarsus Saint Boniface of Tarsus (Greek language, Greek: Βονιφάτιος) was, according to legend, executed for being a Christians, Christian in the year 307 at Tarsus (city), Tarsus, where he had gone from Rome in order to bring back to his mistre ...

, May 14). They are so named because their

feast days The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

fall on the days of May 11, May 12 and May 13 respectively, which often saw the last cold snap of the season. In the United Kingdom, the term '' blackthorn winter'' is an old phrase originating in rural England to describe colder spring air.

Folklore

In parts of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

, the period from May 12 to May 15 is often believed to bring a brief spell of colder weather in many years, including the last nightly frosts of the spring. Pupils of

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

confirmed this weather pattern for the years 1655-70 and reported a marked cold snap over the days of the Ice Saints. However, in 1902 William Dines, President of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

, used modern statistical techniques to demonstrate that the Ice Saints were a myth, brought about by selective reporting. On the other hand, a review of

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

data from 1941 to 1969 showed that 13 May was usually the warmest day of the month, and was followed by a sharp drop in temperature.Hambling, David. "A cold snap in May? Are the saints to blame?", ''The Guardian'', May 10, 2013
/ref> It is thought that the tradition originated during the Middle Ages, when it was important for farmers not to sow their crops too early so that the last frost would not destroy the harvest. In southern Germany, many gardeners don't plant until the end of the ''"Eisheilige,"'' the four successive feast days of the "ice saints" Mamertus, Pancras, Servatus and Boniface — May 11-14. The chilly period ends with "Sophientag" on May 15, named for St.

Sophia of Rome Saint Sophia of Rome is venerated as a Christian martyr. She is identified in hagiographical tradition with the figure of Sophia of Milan, the mother of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity, whose veneration is attested for the sixth century. Howeve ...

. Other names for the late season chill include the “Eismanner” or "Icemen Days".

Variations

St. Mamertus is not counted amongst the Ice Saints in certain countries (Austria, Northern Italy, Czech Republic, etc.), and St. Boniface of Tarsus belongs to them in other countries (

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, Czech Republic, etc.) as well; St. Boniface's feast day falling on May 14. St. Sophia, nicknamed ''Cold Sophia'' (German ''kalte Sophie'') on May 15 can be added in Germany,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

(France), Poland, etc. In Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Ice Saints are St. Pancras,

St. Servatius Saint Servatius (; ; ; died 13 May 384) was bishop of Tongeren (Latin: ''Atuatuca Tungrorum'', the capital of the Tungri). Servatius is patron saint of the city of Maastricht and the towns of Schijndel and Grimbergen. He is one of the Ice Saint ...

and St. Boniface of Tarsus (i.e., May 12 to May 14). To the Poles, the trio are known collectively as ''zimni ogrodnicy'' (cold gardeners) and are followed by ''zimna Zośka'' (cold Sophia) whose feast day falls on May 15. In Czech, the three saints are collectively referred to as "ledoví muži" (ice men or icy men) and St. Sophia is known as "Žofie, ledová žena" (Sophia, the ice woman). In Sweden, the German legend of the Ice Saints has resulted in the belief that there are special ''"järnnätter"'' (Swedish for "iron nights") especially in early June, which are susceptible to frost. The term may have arisen out of a mistranslation of German sources, where the term "Eismänner" (German for "ice men") was read as "Eisenmänner" (German for "iron men") and their nights then termed "iron nights," which then became shifted from May to June.Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut
/ref>

Folklore

Variations

See also

References

Further reading