Shakespeare, le grand poète anglais, connaissait cette tradition quand, dans Hamlet, il fait dire à Marcellus:
Some say that ever'gainst that season comes,
Wherein Our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth a night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm;
So hallowed and so gracious is the time[26]
Note 26:[ (retour) ] Shakespeare, Hamlet, acte I, scène I.
Il y en a qui disent que toujours à l'époque