July is noted chiefly for the superstition attaching to St. Swithin's Day - july 15th - this is today probably the most famous weather saying and most English people will be aware of it.
| “ | St. Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain : St. Swithin's Day, if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mair. | ” |
a 19th century meteorologist observed, regarding this ...
| “ | The notion commonly entertained on this subject, if put strictly to the test of experience of any one station in this part of the island, will be found fallacious. | ” |
... however he continued by saying ...
| “ | in the majority of our summers by giving some latitude as to time and circumstances, it may be admitted to constitute daily rain for forty days; not that any long space before is often so dry as to mark distinctly its commencement. | ” |
... there has grown up an explanation for the rain ...
| “ | when it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it is the Saint christening the apples. | ” |
This website has been put together from a series of old texts that i came across,
while researching fairies and the world of fae in folklore,
I thought there was enough here to share with other people on these other topics.
these pages are meant as an introduction or a bit of fun reading,
for those interested in delving deeper ...
find the source material on the reference page
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