The cabañuelas refer to an ancestral tradition to predict weather conditions. 

It is a method that is usually used by farmers, which consists of observing the atmospheric conditions of the first 12 days of January; with which they seek to predict how the weather will be for the 12 months of the year or in the first 24 days of August to predict how the weather will be for the following year. 

For example, if it rains by January 9, month number 9, which corresponds to September, is predicted to be likely to be rainy. A weather log is made for each day of January, noting the sky conditions, temperature, wind and then linking that day to the respective month. The behavior of animals, the analysis of the stones of the places, and of the clouds also come into play. 

In the field of agriculture, it is very important to read the cabañuelas because, thanks to the empirical study of the weather, it is possible to predict the months of rain and drought to decide when to sow and thus obtain a good harvest. 

The origin of this practice began approximately 35 thousand years B.C.; the predictions were based on the moon and made it possible for man to hunt and fish according to weather conditions. There is another belief that locates the origin of the cabañuelas in Spain as a result of the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast that commemorates the 40 years in which the Jewish people crossed the Sinai desert in search of the Promised Land. In this celebration, rites were performed to predict the weather. 

In Latin America, exactly in Mexico, it is believed that the Aztecs adopted from the Mayas the knowledge of the cabañuelas since the calendar of both civilizations consisted of 18 months with 20 days each, where the first 18 days of January functioned as cabañuelas of each one of the months.

José Buitrago, known as the cabañuelo of Mula, assures that nature is very wise, so one must learn to interpret its language throughout the year to have greater certainty in the elaboration of the cabañuelas. 

However, this tradition has been fading as the climate change that the world has been experiencing in recent years makes it difficult to accurately predict the long-term climate with any certainty. 

The International Iberoamerican University (UNIB) promotes studies related to the environment, such as the Master in Environmental Management and Audits. 

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Sources: What are the cabañuelas and what are they for?The prediction of the cabañuelas for 2023: this is what the experts in reading the weather say.