nPostednon July 15, 2013
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nSt. Swithin’s Day, ifnthou dost rain
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nFor forty days it willnremain;
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nSt. Swithin’s Day, ifnthou be fair
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nFor forty days ’twillnrain nae mair.
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nThisnbit of cute-and-folksy superstition boils down to the idea that,nwhether the weather on St. Swithin’s Day is sunny or rainy, that sortnof weather will hold for the next 40 days.
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It’sna bit like Groundhog Day in the U.S. It’s based on the fact thatnpeople always pay attention to the weather in hopes that they cannbetter predict future weather. And that makes sense; rainstorms oftennlast several days, and warming trends often stick around for a while,ntoo. That said, these special holidays that are supposed to predictnfuture weather…don’t!
It’sna bit like Groundhog Day in the U.S. It’s based on the fact thatnpeople always pay attention to the weather in hopes that they cannbetter predict future weather. And that makes sense; rainstorms oftennlast several days, and warming trends often stick around for a while,ntoo. That said, these special holidays that are supposed to predictnfuture weather…don’t!n
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nFifty-fivendifferent studies of British weather have proven that this particularnsuperstition, like other superstitions, just doesn’t match up withnthe facts.
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nHowndid St. Swithin’s Day get started?
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Well,nit is said that a bishop named Swithin, who lived more than anthousand years ago, asked that he be buried out of doors. He likednthe idea that people would walk over his grave and that rain wouldnsprinkle onto his remains. Of course, the monks of Winchester, wherenSwithin lived, followed his directions. However, after nine years,nthe monks decided to build a beautiful shrine to St. Swithin insidenthe Winchester Cathedral, and to move his remains to this indoornshrine.
Well,nit is said that a bishop named Swithin, who lived more than anthousand years ago, asked that he be buried out of doors. He likednthe idea that people would walk over his grave and that rain wouldnsprinkle onto his remains. Of course, the monks of Winchester, wherenSwithin lived, followed his directions. However, after nine years,nthe monks decided to build a beautiful shrine to St. Swithin insidenthe Winchester Cathedral, and to move his remains to this indoornshrine.
The legend tells us that, on this date in 971, therenwas a heavy rainstorm on St. Swithin’s reburial ceremony. The talenhints that the spirit of Swithin was complaining about being movednindoors! I did not read whether or not the ceremony continued despitenthe storm—whether or not Swithin’s remains were actuallynmoved—whether or not it continued to rain for 40 more days thatnsummer in 971. Really, it all happened so long ago, I probablyncouldn’t count on such details.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nMathematician Fibonacci’s birthday
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nPhysicistnJocelyn Bell Burnell’s birthday
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nPainter Rembrandt van Rijn’s birthday
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Augustnholidays, historicalnanniversaries in August,nand Augustnbirthdays.
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