The last three days of January are considered the coldest of the year. If it is really cold in these days it means it will be warm in spring.  There are several legends related to the tradition of these days also called the days of the ‘hen blackbird’

1-      Once the blackbirds were white. One day it was very chilly and one of them got into a chimney to warm itself. After three days it came out but it had become as black as soot.

2-      It was very cold and two white blackbirds, a male and a female, took shelter in a chimney. They didn’t have anything to eat and the male decided to get out and look for something. After three days he was back and he found a bird as black as coal. He didn’t think it was his companion and flew away to look for her. She had become black because of the soot and had starved to death.

3-      The male and female blackbirds get married at the end of January in the female’s town, near the river PO. They should fly over it to get home, but it is late and they stop two days at their relatives. It is very cold and the male blackbird tries to fly home, but he dies. The female blackbird cries and you can still hear her moaning along the river at nighttime in January.