Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Islands

Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Islands
View of Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Islands-Click on photo to link to Chateau Du Mer

WELCOME TO MY SITE AND HAVE A GOOD DAY

If this is your first time in this site, welcome. It has been my dream that my province, Marinduque, Philippines becomes a world tourist destination not only during Easter Week but also whole year round. You can help me achieve my dream by telling your friends about this site. The photo above is your own private beach at The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort. The sand is not as white as Boracay, but it is only a few steps from your front yard and away from the mayhem and crowds of Boracay. I have posted some of my favorite Filipino and American dishes and recipes on this site also. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringement of your copyrights. Cheers!

Friday, October 30, 2009

St Elmo's Fire- Fire from Hell


In a couple of days, the Philippines will be celebrating All Souls Day. This is the time when I remember St Elmo's fire in Philippine folklore and superstition.

When I was growing up in the Philippines, I believe that the St Elmo fire phenomena is witchcraft or ghost or fire from Hell. My parents used to scare us kids during the Feast of All Souls Day, that St Elmo's fire is Fire from Hell. Now,I know that there is a scientific explanation of this phenomena as follows:

St. Elmo's Fire is a weather phenomenon involving a gap in electrical charge. It's like lightning, but not quite. And while it has been mistaken for ball lightning, it's not that, either -- and it's definitely not fire.
Early observers of the phenomenon, mostly sailors on high seas during thunderstorms, seem to have understood they weren't looking at actual fire, because instead of abandoning ship, they took comfort in the sudden glow atop the masts. Such famous figures as Magellan, Caesar and Columbus experienced St. Elmo's Fire on their journeys. And Pliny the Elder, who seems to have documented absolutely every natural phenomenon back in the 1st century A.D., beat everyone else to the punch when he described blue flames appearing out of nowhere during thunderstorms.
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Sailors tended to attribute the glow to "St. Elmo," a mispronunciation of St. Ermo or St. Erasmus, the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors. They believed the fire was a sign of salvation from the saint, since the phenomenon occurs most often toward the end of a storm. Benjamin Franklin and Charles Darwin viewed the weather event through a decidedly more scientific perspective. But regardless of interpretation, it's clear they were all observing the same phenomenon. And contrary to popular belief, St. Elmo's Fire doesn't only occur at sea. It also occurs on the air near nose of airplanes.

The following video is St Elmo's fire as observed from the nose of an airplane.

2 comments:

The Kano said...

Hi David. I have yet to experience the St. Elmo's fire here in Guimaras, but I would love to see it. Maybe I should get out more!Great pictures.

David B Katague said...

St Elmo's fire usually occurs on a rainy and cloudy day with possibility of( static ions in the air) lightning. I remember seeing one when I was growing up in Iloilo in the province of Barotac Viejo. I was scared and terrified. Incidentally, Macrine and I had spent a thanksgiving holiday in Danville and Sterling, Illinois during my graduate school days at U. of Illinois. How far are these two towns from your place? Yes, you should go out more and take pictures of the islands!

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