I am halfway through reading The White Goddess by Robert Graves. IIRC, in a past MM, there was a discussion on why "a year and a day" was a measurement. In The White Goddess, Graves states that the ancient common-law month in Britain was 28 days. Thirteen lunar months of 28 equals 364 days. Calendar-makers placed a no-month day between the first and last of the 28 day months, so "the farmer's year lasted, from the calendar-maker's point of view, literally a year and a day."
Also, regarding spitting beans at ghosts/spirits, Graves said that the ancient Greeks believed that beans contain a soul. (They sprout in spirals and they release "breath" when you eat them.) He didn't explain the rationale of why spitting a bean would discourage the ghost/spirit; perhaps they thought beans behaved like Poke-balls :-).
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branchandroot
a year and a bean
Date: 2024-06-24 10:35 am (UTC)Also, regarding spitting beans at ghosts/spirits, Graves said that the ancient Greeks believed that beans contain a soul. (They sprout in spirals and they release "breath" when you eat them.) He didn't explain the rationale of why spitting a bean would discourage the ghost/spirit; perhaps they thought beans behaved like Poke-balls :-).