Sagging stars of San Lorenzohere. By now very little is missing from the peak of the most anticipated meteors of the year and which are already visible in our skies. Let’s find out the traditions and history.
Also known as Perseidthe meteors usually associated on the night of August 10, this year the peak will reach the peak August 12, As has happened since a long time, therefore not in the notorious night of San Lorenzo, which is celebrated on 10.
The origins of the Perseids
The first observations of the Perseids date back to 36 AD to the Chinese. But in 1866, after the transition to the Perdie of the COMETA Swift-Tuttle of 1862, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli discovered its bond.
The meteors therefore originated from the comet Swift-tuttlecharacterized by a nucleus of about 10 km. His last passage to Perdielio took place in 1992, and the next one will take place in 2126. What we admire in August today are the fragments that the comet has left behind during the previous orbits around the sun.
Because they are associated with the night of San Lorenzo
The real name of this swarm of meteor is Perseid and is linked to the radiant, that is, to the point from which they seem to originate, in this case the constellation of Perseus.
However, in our country, they are also known as Tears of San Lorenzo And traditionally they are associated with the night of August 10 named in San Lorenzo Martire. But this definition is the last in order of time, taken from the Christian tradition by the pagan one.
In Greece the phenomenon was religiously associated with Transfiguration of the Lord which falls on August 6 but in Roman times the meteors were considered a propitious rain of sperm of god inuo-piapo who, with this gesture, fertilized the fields. It is no coincidence that according to the pagan tradition the month of Augustus was Dedicated to the emperor Ottaviano Augusto and it was the one in which most of the parties related to the agricultural world were celebrated, the cultivation of fields, to fertility.
During some celebrations, the so -called ‘Fescennina Iocatio ‘that is the ‘Fescennina facezia‘And the enormous foul of the god Priapo was brought to procession, also celebrating his “tears” and fertility.
The transition to the Christian saint Lorenzo was borrowed from the Catholic Church. Probably, the figure of the saint was chosen as he is phonetically assonant with that of Acca Larenzia, namely the Great Mother and Female Counterparty of Priapo, also celebrated on August 10.
The “tears” fruitful of Priapo have thus turned into those of San Lorenzo, the Christian archdeacon killed on 10 August due to a edict according to which bishops and priests had to be killed. The stake with which he was killed provided for burning carbons: for this reason, the falling stars would be nothing more than the embers on which the saint was burned.
Today, admiring the falling stars of San Lorenzo is a collective rite that combines science and suggestion. This is not just an astronomical phenomenon: to look at the sky in these August nights means participating in a millennial tradition made of stories, legends and hopes. For many, every bright wake is an opportunity to express a desire, a gesture that resists time and that continues to excite young and old.
To better enjoy the show, the advice is to choose a place far from light pollution, preferably in the open countryside or in the mountains. The ideal time for observation is after midnight, when Perseus’ constellation is higher in the sky and the frequency of the meteors increases. No special tools are needed: just trained eyes are enough, a little patience and, perhaps, a blanket to lie down and get lost in the magic of summer sky.
