Wednesday, 16 December 2009

The word hyacinth.....

I adore Hyacinths, I think it is the way that you can watch them grow.

I never knew where the name came from until a few days ago, merci beaucoup Philip.

An ancient Greek legend describes the origin of the Hyacinth. Two of the gods, Apollo and Zephyr, adored a handsome young Greek called Hyakinthos. Apollo was teaching Hyakinthos the art of throwing a discus.

Zephyr, who was the god of the west wind, was overcome with jealousy and he blew the discus back. It struck Hyakinthos on the head and killed him. From his blood grew a flower, which the sun god Apollo named after him.

What a fabulous story, its makes hyacinths seem a little bit more special.

It is really cold here in SW France, -6 degrees but as yet we have had no snow.

My plan is to stay inside today and make some gingerbread biscuits.

What are you doing today?/Que faites-vous aujourd'hui?

A demain mes amis

L x

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18 comments:

  1. HI Leeann
    It is going to be 40c here tomorrow so definitely no snow.

    A favourite poem is 'Hyacinth' by a 13th century persian poet..... "If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, And from thy slender store Two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole, Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul."

    Lovely to learn about the origins of the name. Have a great Christmas. Julie

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  2. Il fait aussi très froid ici à Madrid,et á ce moment il commence à tomber la neige mais......il faut aller au travail.
    Bonne journée et bon appétit

    DMV

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  3. Thank you for your sweet comment ... I'm sure you know how excited we are to be going home! I must admit I will miss a cold Xmas!

    Hope it snows for you on Christmas day.
    Happy holidays!!
    xx

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  4. I agree that it's lovely to watch them grow. Thank you for sharing that story!

    What I did today (amongst work, Christmas Shopping and general running of the household)... Well it made it to 41 degrees celcius here today (South Australia) but, even so,I also made gingerbread - a gingerbread house! They're lovely for Christmas regardless of the weather.

    Diana

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  5. Lee,
    I thought Maine was cold .
    SIX degrees, BHURRRR.
    I love Hyacenth's they smell wonderful, I have them outside, Everytime I hear Hyacenth I think of an old English sitcom. The one all the women had names like Violet & Rose, etc.
    It was very funny,Called Keeping up appearances.
    Stay warm Yvonne

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  6. Isn't it great to find the origins of things, Leeann ?.... and I love the poem that Julie quoted. Hyacinths are so beautiful and the perfume. WOW.
    Today, I have to go out to lunch. Oh what a shame !!
    Enjoy your baking. XXXX

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  7. Your Hyacinths are so lovely. They also smell heavenly.
    I so enjoy your blog and thank you so much for visiting me and making such lovely comments.
    Today, I plan to buy a gift for my sister, I am such a procrastinator!

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  8. Dear Leeann,
    Thanks for your comments! I hope you get your camera from Pere Noel...and maybe even those shoes:)
    I love your posting about hyacinths. It's so interesting to learn information about something you have seen or had in your life but did not really know about it. I will look at them in a totally different way now. I hope I will not need any blood to grow mine this spring!LOL
    I just love the smell of hyacinths. They have a smell that reminds me of Easter. It was always a tradition growing up that we would have hyacinths in our home at Easter every year. Now I make sure I have them for my daughter to appreciate at Easter.
    Have a wonderful day and STAY WARM!
    XoXo,
    Gail

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  9. oooooh hyacinths...you turned my thoughts toward Spring...yet we have built our first wood fire of the season today and are just staying put inside!

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  10. What a great background on the Hyacinth! I never knew the source before. They are also lovely to watch & smell,
    HH,
    lESLIE

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  11. What a nice story! I love hyacinths but I didn't know the origin of the name! Thanks for sharing!
    Vale

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  12. Hi Leeann!

    I have long loved hyacinths, but have never heard the history on where the name came from...how interesting!

    It's cold here in Midwest US too, about 15 degrees today, so I wish I could just bundle up and stay in and bake...that would be wonderful...but alas I have many errands to run today...hopefully I will be all caught up by the weekend and can relax and enjoy this beautiful season a little!

    :) T

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  13. Well - I made banana and cinnamon muffins for the school fête tomorrow and am still working on perfecting my 'Anglaise' script hand for a special commissioned project that I must deliver tomorrow!!! Trying t write my blog post too while waiting for the ink to dry. Maybe I should try watching hyacinths grow instead ;-)

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  14. Great photo and history. Enjoy the gingerbread baking--we are sampling Christmas cheeses around our house today. Food is lovelier around the holidays, wouldn't you say?

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  15. No hyacinths here, too warm now. Have been working today, but stopped into a favourite store on my way home and bought myself the most gorgeous necklace made from Vintage headscarves, I know that may sound wierd, but I promise, it is divine. Gingerbread is a real winner with me. Yum.

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  16. I love Hyacinths too, especially muscari in the garden with all the other spring flowers. what a beautiful story behind the name. We had a tiny dusting of snow here in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I am not sure that has ever happened before and my daughter tells me they are expecting snow tonight in London, hope you get some too. you have a lovely blog, Kathy.

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