In Roman times Alcyone would have risen heliacally in day 136 (May 16) - 27 (precessional depth down to the time of Caesar) = 109 ('April 19).
This was only a few hours before Pleione (28) and Atlas (27) would have risen together with the Sun.
There were 3 days with only cold food served. ... In China, every year about the beginning of April, certain officials called Sz'hüen used of old to go about the country armed with wooden clappers. Their business was to summon the people and command them to put out every fire. This was the beginning of the season called Han-shih-tsieh, or 'eating of cold food'. For three days all household fires remained extinct as a preparation for the solemn renewal of the fire, which took place on the fifth or sixth day after the winter solstice [Sic!] ... Supposing the renewal of fire was due when Atlas (the only male in the group) was lifting the sky dome high, we should then notice that this significant star culminated (at 21h) in December 31.
From December 31 to MARCH 13 there were 72 (= 360 / 5) days. But Alcyone would not have become visible until day 72 + 16 = 88 ('two and twenty good four-wheeled wains'). ... The total number of notches (88) not only coincides with the number of days in 3 lunations (88.5) but also approximately with the number of days when the star Betelgeuse (α Ori) disappeared from view each year between its heliacal set (about 14 days before the spring equinox around 33,000 BP) and its heliacal rise (approximately 19 days before the summer solstice) ... 171 (summer solstice) - 19 = 152 = June 1. Winter solstice (December 21) + 6 = °December 27 = December 31 - 4.
... When she now came up beside him, he, the Moon, invited his (new) wife to enter, saying: 'Please enter, but take care not to look into the side-house, for my little sister is apt to singe all that is strange to her!' Thus the Moon said to her. She now went in, and she was on the point of glancing towards the side-house, but alas one side of the border of her hood was singed.
Then she sat down on the sleeping platform and for the time being remained sitting there. At the front wall of the house she caught sight of some poor human beings, their faces were one broad grin - they had no entrails. Thus she now sat there. At last, after some time, the Moon entered, and he now said: 'Look at those poor fellows there without entrails, they are those my cousin has deprived of their entrails!'
He had given one of them something to chew, but as usual it fell down through him, where the entrails had been removed. Whenever they swallowed something, they had chewed a little, it fell right through them. The Moon now said to her: 'Look here! My poor cousin, the entrail-snatcher, he will surely come in to take away thy entrails, but now listen how to act. Thou must begin to blow and at the same time to thrust thy hands in under the front flap of thy fur coat, holding them so that they resemble a bear, then he must take himself off. Do thus, whenever thou art on the point of smiling!' Thus he told her to act ...
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