The beliefs

Many legends talk about dragons coming to swallow the Sun. These legends advised the people to scare away the dragon by making a lot of noise. The Japanese would even go to the extent of covering their water wells during an eclipse, scared that poisonous liquid would fall from the sky.
In the Middle-Ages, it happened more then once that, when there was a total eclipse, it meant the end of the world. During the June 16th eclipse in 1406, in France, the people hurried to the churches by the hundreds.
Around the XVIth century, in France, it was thought that the Sun was in love with the Moon and that when they met (the eclipse) they gave birth to millions of stars.
Today still, solar eclipses bring out certain strange human aspects : in 1991, Mexican authorities advised the people to watch the eclipse only on a television screen.

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Last modifications: 3 July'99