Funchal folk tales

Madeira folk Tales

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The legend of Sao Silvestre

There was Our Lady sitting on a cloud watching the ocean, when she passed by there was wild.

The saint greeted her respectfully and, taking place at his side, began to talk.

Sao Silvestre said: - My lady, this is my day...

The Virgin replied: - True, Silvestre!

And he went on: - How I would like this date to be marked in the hearts of men!

The mother of Christ smiled.

And he proceeded: - It would be a frontier between the past and the future. So humanity would have the opportunity to repent of its faults and hope for a fresh start.

Our Lady looked vaguely at the horizon. St. Silvestre strange her silence and questioned her. And she said to him,

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- You reminded me of the beauty and magnificence of the beautiful island of Atlantis and how the arrogance and pride of the Atlanteans caused its end. Warned by God of their insolence, they did not repent and the Almighty punished them.

And, lowering his beautiful head, he started to cry.

- They're wild, sad and dismayed, I didn't know what to do. It was the Savior's mother who mourned the proud and sinful!

Vexed, dejected, suddenly noticed the tears that trickled down the lady's hands. And he dared to look her in the eye.

They were not tears, they were glittering pearls that trickled through the beautiful face and fall on the site of the missing Atlantis.

Marvel, the Holy Trembles...

And God, in his infinite grace, transformed the most beautiful of pearls that fell into the ocean on an island called the Pearl of the Atlantic-the current wood.

The ancients say that at the sound of the Twelve Bells of December 31st, the day of St. Sylvester, the skies were filled with bright and wonderful lights, in a kaleidoscope of colours. The heavenly aromas and sounds then followed the divine prodigy.

It is in honor of this miracle that the celebrated feasts of St. Silvestre were created, in a charming tribute to the

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saint, Our Lady, God, the island of Madeira and the Fallen Atlantis.

SĂŁo Silvestre was Pope in the first half of the 4th century after Christ, during the government of Emperor Constantine, the first ruler of Rome converted to Christianity. He was one of the first canonized saints without suffering martyrdom.

Interestingly, it was a contemporary of St. Nicholas who gave birth to the figure of Santa Claus, as it is said in another story.

He died on 31 December, a date that, according to the Gregorian calendar, precedes the New Year: In several countries, this event is called Silvestre.

Throughout the world it is marked the time of the passage of the year with fireworks and spectacles of light and sound.

So, from the legend of Sao Silvestre, came the inspiration to receive the Happy New Year.

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Done by Students and teachers from the school February 2018

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