Today I’ve been keeping my beady eye on the skies for it’s said that:
If on the 8th of June it rain
It foretells a wet harvest, men sayn.
Got to love a good rhyming couplet. However, French folklore takes it a step further as they celebrate St. Medard’s (or Medardus’) Day today and it’s said that:
Quand il pleut à la Saint-Médard,
il pleut quarante jours plus tard.
Or in other words, if it rains today, don’t expect to put your brolly away for another forty. And it’s not just the French and the Brits who get antsy on the 8th, the Czechs also have a saying about if it rains today:
Medardova kápě, čtyřicet dní kape
Which, if I remember my Czech correctly *checks notes* means, Medard’s hood drips for forty days.
So good job it didn’t rain today then. I mean it was a little touch and go earlier, but unless a swathe of nimbostratus waltzes in before midnight, I think we’re in the clear. Or as the Czechs say:
Jasný den na Medarda tiší rolníkovo naříkání.
Resources
Cooper, Q. and Sullivan, P. (1994) Maypoles, Martyrs & Mayhem: 366 Days of British Myths, Customs & Eccentricities, London, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medardus#Legends_and_customs
