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Date Posted: 05:14:44 10/18/03 Sat
Author: ketch - 15 Jul 2003
Subject: St Swithin's Day

July 15th - Feast Day of St Swithin.

By tradition today foretells the English weather for the next forty days.

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.


In fact today seems to be hot and dry throughout England.


Winchester Cathedral



According to some accounts St Swithin may have been something of a yogi. He is said to have lived in a cave practicing various spiritual disciplines.

He was probably an advisor of Egbert, King of the West Saxons. Later he bacame the bishop of Winchester.

On his deathbed (probably 862AD)he was so humble that he asked to be buried outside the north wall of the cathedral where passers by would walk over his grave and raindrops from the eves would fall on him. An attempt to move his remains later let to forty days of rain and was probably the start of the superstition.

Entry in Catholic Encyclopedia

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