🔴 On Saturday morning, the Main Public Reading Library of Médéa hosted Dr. Safia Hasnaoui in an intellectual and cultural session entitled January in the Popular Imagination and Agricultural Culture, addressing the meanings of January and its relationship with land and agriculture, as part of the celebration of the Agrarian New Year.

🟥 Dr. Hasnaoui explained the historical roots of January linked to the popular imagination and folk culture, through the origin of the name “January” and its close connection to the Amazigh agricultural calendar and ancient North African civilizations.

🔸 She then discussed the legend of January in folk tales, illustrated by the well-known story of January and February and the tale of the old woman shepherd. According to the legend, January originally had only 30 days and was extremely cold. An old woman challenged the harsh winter by taking her goats to graze on its last day. Feeling insulted by her arrogance, January borrowed a day and a night from February to restore his authority, imposing a bitterly cold night on the old woman, who perished along with her livestock. This reflects a deep analysis of popular myths, the conflict of months, and how these stories mirror the relationship between humans and nature.

🔸 She then reviewed traditional practices associated with January celebrations, such as slaughtering a rooster for the man and a hen for the woman, and preparing a dish made of seven vegetables to ensure a prosperous and fertile agricultural season.

🔸 She also addressed hospitality customs and special foods prepared for the occasion, which are meant to be hearty. One custom involves placing a date pit in the food and then sharing it among the children; whoever finds the pit in their plate is given the key to the land and is considered a bearer of good fortune. The celebration also includes charcham, rituals of blessing the land, and traditions of visiting and exchanging greetings that strengthen social cohesion.

♦ The session concluded with a discussion of historical cultural heritage, emphasizing the deep historical roots of this celebration that extend back thousands of years, and highlighting the importance of preserving it as part of identity and collective memory, and of safeguarding the traditions of our ancestors who celebrated it in hope of a fertile season and a good year.