It's Martin. That is another way to say that it's Sunday, November 11th here in Slovakia. Each day on the calendar has a name attached to it. Some of them are associated with the saints, others are contemporary names. All of them have meaning.Gabriel was asking Ivetka this morning on the way to church when he could play in the snow. It has only been raining here, so no apparent luck for a little guy with aspirations of sledding and snowball fights. Ivetka's answer was simple - "Martin comes riding on a white horse." Makes sense - right? Well, it does if you are Slovak. For the rest of us it's like mystic haiku.
After the worship service to our surprise it was snowing! What happened? "Martin comes riding on a white horse." Which is another way of saying - "at this time of year, usually on Martin, it snows." Gabie's was of course thrilled about the snow, but still had one question - "where is the horse?"
It's amazing to me that this culture has (at lest in the past) had such a intimate connection to it's environment. Within its language and proverbs there is a connection that reflects a very precise understanding of the rhythms, cycles, and tempo of the world around them. "Martin comes riding on a white horse" is just one of many of these almost mystical time-tested sayings.
