Rain on St. Swithin’s Day Says We’ll Get 40 More Days of Rain

If it rains on St. Medard Day, it is believed it will continue raining for 40 days straight. However, did you know about St. Swithin's Day?

St. Medard Day June 8

St. Medard lived in 5th & 6th Century France and is the patron saint of weather and rain. It is believed, especially here in Acadiana, that if it rains on St. Medard Day that it will rain every day for 40 straight days.

According to www.saints.sqpn.com:

Legend says that when he was a child, Medard was once sheltered from the rain by a hovering eagle. This is his most common depiction in art, and led to his patronage of good weather, against bad weather, for people who work the fields, etc.

Legend has it that if it rains on his feast day, the next 40 days will be wet; if the weather is good, the next 40 will be fine as well. He was also depicted as laughing aloud with his mouth wide open; this led to his patronage against toothache.

As St. Medard Day 2021 approached, I stayed glued to the weather forecasts to see if was supposed to rain on June 8. Well, this year it did not rain on St. Medard Day. In accordance with the legend, it hasn't rained for 40 straight days, but it has in fact rained just about every day for the past three weeks.

Now, let's talk about St. Swithin's Day...

St. Swithin's Day July 15

St. Swithin's Day in the United Kingdom also called St. Swithun's Day, is just like St. Medard Day in Acadiana. The legend says that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day, July 15, that it will rain for 40 days in a row.

One positive twist with St. Swithin's Day is that if it rains on July 15, after the 40 days of rain will come 40 days of nice weather.

From britannica.com -

St. Swithin was bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862. At his request he was buried in the churchyard, where rain and the steps of passersby might fall on his grave. According to legend, after his body was moved inside the cathedral on July 15, 971, a great storm ensued

There's a St. Swithin's Day, or St. Swithun's Day, proverb that explains the legend.

"St. Swithun's day if thou dost rain

For forty days it will remain

St. Swithun's day if thou be fair

For forty days 'twill rain nae mare

      A Buckinghamshire variation has

If on St. Swithun's day it really pours

You're better off to stay indoors."

Yesterday, St. Swithin's Day, was full of rain around Acadiana.

Read more about St. Smithin's Day at wikipedia.com.