Cuckoo Warning Day
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"For years my pet aversion had been the cuckoo clock...Some sounds are hatefuller than others, but no sound is quite so inane, and silly, and aggravating as the "hoo'hoo" of a cuckoo clock, I think. I bought one, and am carrying it home to a certain person; for I have always said that if the opportunity ever happened, I would do that man an ill turn."
~Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, 1880
Mark Twain may have been in the minority. Many love the cheerful "cuckoo" of the cuckoo clock. The cuckoo gets its name from one of the calls of the common cuckoo bird , which is emulated in the cuckoo clock. More than any other kind of timepiece, the cuckoo clock has often featured in Western culture as a metaphor or allegory of innocence, childhood, old age, the past, fun, or even a mental disorder. Classic cuckoo clocks often have the cuckoo chime on the hour, while some more elaborate clocks feature a quail call on the quarter hours! For those who heed the wild cuckoo, traditional weather folklore holds that if you hear a cuckoo calling on June 21st, there is a wet summer ahead! 🌧️ 🕰️ ☀️
The Cuckoo Clock
The distinctive call and behavior of the cuckoo bird have fascinated for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, the cuckoo was sacred to the goddess Hera. In Europe, the cuckoo is associated with spring, and with cuckoldry, for example in Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost as a result of some cuckoo species tendency to lay their eggs in the nests of other species. However, the majority of cuckoos raise their own young.
In India, cuckoos are sacred to Kamadeva, the god of desire and longing, whereas in Japan, the cuckoo symbolises unrequited love.
The first mention of of cuckoo clocks goes back to 1629, many decades before clockmaking was established in the Black Forest region of Germany.
Bellows and whistles create the characteristic "cuckoo" sound inside of the cuckoo clock, and are usually tuned to a minor or major third.
The world’s most extensive and finest collection of cuckoo clocks (with both old and new models) is at the Cuckooland Museum in Cheshire, England!
To see how a cuckoo clock is made, click the video below.
"Kuna siku ya kuonya kuhusu kuku, na kuna siku nyingine ya kuonya kuhusu saa ya kuku, lakini hakuna sauti ambayo ni ya kipumbavu, ya kipumbavu, na yenye kuchukiza kama ""hoohoo"" ya saa ya kuku." "Nilinunua moja, na ninaipeleka nyumbani kwa mtu fulani; kwa maana siku zote nimesema kwamba ikiwa fursa itatokea, ningemdhuru mtu huyo.""" "Mark Twain, ""A Tramp Abroad"" (1881) - Mtaalamu wa mambo ya nje wa Marekani." Watu wengi hupenda sauti yenye furaha ya saa ya kuku. Kwa mfano, ndege anayeitwa Cuckoo ni ndege wa kawaida anayeitwa Cuckoo, na jina lake linatokana na sauti ya ndege anayeitwa Cuckoo. Kwa sababu ya kuwa ni saa ya kuvutia sana, saa ya kuvutia ya Cuckoo imekuwa ikitumiwa sana katika utamaduni wa Magharibi kama mfano wa kutokuwa na hatia, utoto, uzee, wakati uliopita, furaha, au hata ugonjwa wa akili. Mara nyingi saa za kawaida za kuku huwa na kengele ya kuku saa moja, ilhali saa nyingine zenye ustadi zaidi huwa na kengele ya quail saa kumi na tano! Kwa wale wanaomsikiliza kuku wa mwituni, hadithi ya jadi ya hali ya hewa inasema kwamba ikiwa unasikia kuku akipiga kelele Juni 21, kuna majira ya joto yenye mvua mbele! <unk>️ <unk>️ <unk>️ Saa ya Cuckoo Sauti ya kipekee na tabia ya ndege wa cuckoo imesisimua kwa maelfu ya miaka. Katika hekaya za Kigiriki, kuku alikuwa mtakatifu kwa mungu-mke Hera. Katika Ulaya, kuku ni kuhusishwa na spring, na cuckoldry, kwa mfano katika Shakespeare's Love's Labours, waliopotea kama matokeo ya baadhi ya aina ya kuku mwelekeo wa kuweka mayai yao katika viota vya spishi nyingine. Hata hivyo, kuku wengi hufuga watoto wao wenyewe. Katika India, kuku ni mtakatifu kwa Kamadeva, mungu wa tamaa na tamaa, ilhali nchini Japani, kuku hufananisha upendo usio na malipo. Kwa mfano, saa za Cuckoo zilitengenezwa mwaka 1629 katika eneo la Black Forest nchini Ujerumani. Sauti ya "cuckoo" hutokezwa na mlio na filimbi, na kwa kawaida huimbwa kwa sauti ya tatu ndogo au kubwa. Mkusanyiko mkubwa zaidi na bora zaidi ulimwenguni wa saa za kuku (zikiwa na mifano ya zamani na mpya) uko katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Cuckooland huko Cheshire, Uingereza! Ili kuona jinsi saa ya kuku inavyofanywa, bonyeza video iliyo hapa chini.