Saint Swithun (died 2nd July 862) |
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"St. Swithun's Day, if it does rain full forty days, it will remain. This weather rhyme has been told in the UK since Elizabethan times - but why? St. Swithun became Bishop of Winchester in 852. He had been a tutor of King Alfred the Great, and he also built and mended many churches. |
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Winchester Cathedral (Click on the photo to see an enlarged image in a new window ) |
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According to the legend, he asked to be buried out of doors, where people would walk over his body and the rain would fall on it. For nine years his wish was granted, but then the monks of Winchester built a magnificent golden tomb for him inside the cathedral. When they tried to move his remains indoors on 15th July 971, they were stopped by a heavy rainstorm, giving birth to the folklore that if it rains on St. Swithun's day it will rain for the next 40 days, but if it is fine, the 15th July will be followed by 40 days of good weather. |
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Shrine of St. Swithun (Click on the photo to see an enlarged image in a new window ) |
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Do you remember what the weather was like on St. Swithun's Day this year? How about the 40 days that followed? |
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