Tomorrow, 15 July, is St Swithun's Day. Most people have heard the saying that if it rains then it will rain for 40 more. There's a rhyme that goes:
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
The Bishop of Winchester, who died in the year 862, would probably be forgotten if it wasn't for that bit of folklore. However, he wasn't associated with rain until after his death. According to a legend, he had asked to be buried outdoors but his remains were later reburied inside the church. A storm brewed on the day his body was moved, and rain continued to pelt down for over a month. It didn't stop until he was reburied out in the churchyard. This was taken as a miracle.
But the rain wasn't always seen as a bad thing, and the saint's water-bringing powers became associated with growing apples. According to Steve Roud in The English Year, it was believed that rain on St Swithun's Day and afterwards was essential to produce a good crop. A Warwickshire saying was that you should never eat apples until St Swithun had "Christened them".
Having an apple tree in my own garden, I know that getting rain at this time of year is important to help the fruit plump out properly. Otherwise they can be too small and hard.
I've looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow and at the moment it isn't saying rain. I might do a spell to help the clouds water the garden.
Quite a few annual customs linked to Christian saints' days are more about seasonal cycles and harvests than religion.
My book Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year offers more ways to acknowledge and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can view Rounding the Wheel of the Year on Amazon, find it at esoteric bookshops or via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year
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Previous Related Posts
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/01/wassailing-my-apple-tree-with-lambswool.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/08/rounding-year-whats-your-lammas-harvest.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/07/rounding-year-wheel-turns-july-is-here.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2017/08/mandala-august-harvest-of-apples-and.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/04/folklore-customs-may-eve-walpurgis.html
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