Spring it’s one of the most eagerly-awaited seasons of the year, meaning winter is over, days are getting longer and nature is awakening. Because of this, there are a wealth of traditional sayings which speak about the arrival of the swallows, flowers in bloom and the unpredictable weather associated with this time of year.

Spring is the time of year with the most positive connotations attached to it. When Catalans say someone is in the spring of their life it means they are young and have their whole life ahead of them. That’s because spring is a time of the reawakening of nature, with everything taking on new vitality after winter. This re-birth is also reflected in our bodies and behaviour, hence the expression ‘the blood flows differently in the spring’.

The arrival of the swallows and flowers are two more clear signs that spring is around the corner. That’s why there are so many Catalan sayings, which translate as follows: ‘When swallows appear, spring is here’, ‘Early swallows mean a warm spring’, ‘a lone flower doesn’t make it summer, and two don’t make it spring’. Another saying focuses on the habits of ants, insects which are particularly sensitive to changes in the weather: ‘When ants are sorting their home out spring is almost here’.

When it comes to the weather, spring can be full of surprises: it’s a time when weather is highly changeable and it’s just as likely to rain as the sun is likely to shine, or to be as hot as summer or as cold as December. Because of this, the list of sayings about spring is extensive. Hence we get expressions such as: ‘March, a false spring which fools animals’. ‘If there’s thunder on the Feast of the Annunciation, it’ll be a cold spring’, and ‘if spring rain isn’t torrential it will at least fill your basket’ (meaning spring rain is beneficial for growing crops).

There is a widely-held belief that winter has a significant effect on spring. ‘A harsh winter governs the spring’, ‘A harsh winter makes for a dog of a spring’, and ‘if winter feels like spring, spring will feel like winter’. La Candelera (Candlemas, on 2 February) is also a key date for guessing what spring is going to be like: ‘Beautiful Candlemas, ugly spring’ and ‘for Candlemas we’ll discover if spring will be ugly or beautiful’.