Matthias breaks the ice

Feast day of Saint Matthias, apostle of Jesus

Also known as the ‘thirteenth apostle’, because he replaced Judas, St Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded with an axe, or, so it is said. His symbol is a battleaxe and he is patron of woodcutters and carpenters.

Folklore has it that if there is sharp frost on his day it will last several days, something that happens on a February morning here in Australia about … never. A weather proverb also says:

Matthias breaks the ice, if he finds it;
If he does not break it, he makes it all the harder.

Tagged: folklore, religion, christianity, saints