MORNING MOON

The moon this morning at 7:30.

La lune du matin
Weather report from Paris: beautiful but unseasonably mild winter; we can't remember when we last had a frosty morning.

Expression

Noël au balcon, Pâques aux tisons. Christmas on the balcony, Easter at the fireplace. 

Vocabulary
la lune:  the moon
le matin:  the morning
un temps doux:  mild weather
la météo:  the weather report; forecast
la gelée:  the frost; the jelly
une gelée blanche:  a hoarfrost
le balcon:  the balcony
un tison:  a coal ember





©2012 P.B. Lecron

READING THE MOON

The French say the moon is a liar. La lune est une menteuse.

It's a charming devise they use to remember  the difference between a waxing and a waning moon. When the moon forms a crescent in the form of a C, as in croissant from the French verb croître (to grow or to increase in size), they say the moon is lying because in reality it is in its last quarter, decreasing or waning.

When the the moon forms a capital D as in décroissant from the verb décroître (to diminish), it's another lie because it's actually increasing or waxing.


Italians and musicians can look at the moon and do the same using the musical directions Crescendo and Decrescendo.


Culinary historians beg to differ on the exact origin of the crescent form for pastries. They generally agree, however, that French bakers perfected the croissant when they began using a pâte feuilletée layered with butter to create a delicately crispy but puffy and flaky breakfast staple loved the world over.


© 2010 P.B. Lecron