What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
Conversely, in the Anasazi culture (Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the present-day Four Corners region of the United States) rain was held to be sacred. Indeed, the Anasazi culture came to view rain as a gift from the Rain God. Pictured is an engraving depicting Zuni Indians (Pueblo Indians of New Mexico) performing a sacred rain dance in costumes and masks. The men impersonate spirits or gods called Kachinas.
In the Judeo-Christian cultural tradition, rain served as a tool of God's wrath. While God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood, the rest of the world drowns.
In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus is the ruler of the heavens, the god of clouds, rain, thunder, and lightening.
The Sumerians believed that rain was the semen of the sky-god An, which fell from the heavens to inseminate his consort, the earth-goddess Ki. She would then give birth to all the plants on the planet. Sumer is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now southern Iraq). (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Akkadians, also of ancient Mesopotamia, believed that the clouds were the breasts of Anu's consort, Antu, and that rain was milk from her breasts. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)
According to tradition, 1st century BCE Jewish scholar Honi HaMe'agel ended a three-year drought in Judaea by drawing a circle in the sand and standing in it. He prayed for rain and told God he would not move until the heavens opened. God duly obliged, and it began to pour.
In the series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius called 'Meditations,' the Roman Emperor recalls a prayer for rain made by the Athenians to the Greek sky-god Zeus.
On April 22, 2011, then-governor of Texas Rick Perry asked Texans to pray for rain after a prolonged drought. The drought continued to worsen for four months despite the collective call for salvation. The first major rain in the state after the Days of Prayer event came 168 days later on October 9, 2011.
Dodola is a pagan tradition once widely practiced in the Balkans. Also known as Paparuda, the ritual sees a girl wearing a skirt made of fresh green knitted vines and small branches who sings and dances through the streets of a village, stopping at every house, where the hosts sprinkle water on her. According to some interpretations, Dodola is a Slavic goddess of rain. The custom is essentially a prayer for rain during the hot dry summer months.
Rain is a central concern of African societies, which depend on it for their sustenance and that of their animals. Persistent drought has devastated many countries, including Niger. Here, young Nigerois women dance a traditional Huru Ruki dance for good luck and prosperity, which translates as food and rain for many.
Rain has been sung about in various ways. The B-side of the Beatles' hit single 'Paperback Writer' released in 1966, 'Rain' is described by John Lennon as a song "about people moaning about the weather all the time." It's especially remembered for the last verse, which includes backwards vocals—the first use of this groundbreaking technique on a record!
In this movie, Burt Lancaster stars as con man Bill Starbuck, who promises rain to a desperate drought-ridden Kansas town in exchange for money. Along the way the double-dealing rainmaker becomes involved with spinster Lizzie Curry, played by Katharine Hepburn.
One of the most legendary films ever to come out of Hollywood, 'Singin' in the Rain' features Gene Kelly's iconic song and dance routine, the movie's centerpiece performance.
Ridley Scott's action thriller 'Black Rain' stars Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia. The title refers to the combination of soot and radioactive fallout that was in the air after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When interacting with clouds, this would cause rain to fall that was black in color and highly lethal. The story is related in the film by the character Sugai, played by Tomisaburô Wakayama.
Played over the sequence in the 1969 film 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' where Butch (Paul Newman) performs bicycle stunts, sometimes erratically, around a farm, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' won an Oscar for Best Original Song.
The title track from Prince's 1984 album of the same name, 'Purple Rain' closed in dramatic fashion the titular film, regarded by many publications and critics as one of the greatest musical films. Incidentally, this is the final song Prince performed live, taking place at the end of his final performance in Atlanta on April 14, 2016, one week before he died.
Released in 1983 as a singe by pop duo Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart), the idea for the song's title apparently came from Lennox who while standing on a hotel balcony after a disagreement with Stewart noticed it was starting to rain. She announced: "Here comes the rain again."
Described as "one of the ultimate hard-rock power ballads," 'November Rain' is a song by Guns N' Roses. The music video features a wedding and a funeral, both interrupted by rain. Depressing stuff, actually...
Rain is a frequent subject of artists, both past and present. Pictured here is 'Paris Street; Rainy Day,' by French artist Gustave Caillebotte, painted in 1877.
Japanese artist Hiroshige's 1857 woodblock print 'Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake' seen here on the left inspired Van Gogh to make a copy in oil (right).
In 1904, the Tacoma Times used cartoons to illustrate articles about local baseball games. This cartoon indicates that a game between the Tacoma Tigers and the San Francisco Seals was canceled in the fifth inning due to rain.
To rain on someone's parade (figuratively) is to disappoint or discourage someone by ruining or criticizing their plans or aspirations. According to writingexplained, the idiom first appeared in the latter half of the 1900s. A song titled 'Don’t Rain on My Parade' from the 1964 musical 'Funny Girl' may have helped popularize the expression.
According to a report published on the BBC website, there are 50 different words in the English language for rain.
Why do some people say "it's raining cats and dogs" to describe a heavy downpour? The phrase might have its roots in Norse mythology or medieval superstitions. A false theory suggested that cats and dogs used to cuddle into thatch roofs during storms and then be washed out during heavy rains. In mid-18th-century Britain, the phrase was expanded to include "it's raining pitchforks" to describe the shaft-like appearance of heavy rains. This illustration shows cats, dogs, and pitchforks raining down on a beleaguered public.
Acid rain—rainfall that is particularly acidic—can can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids, acid rain and its adverse effects became a global issue during the 1980s when the general public joined environmentalists around the world to voice their concerns and to lobby governments for a reduction in atmospheric pollutants.
Weather can affect employee productivity. During heavy rain, for example, construction workers will try to work on the inside of a building. If it is raining to the point that it is dangerous or unproductive, they quit for the day. On the other hand, there are those who thrive during downpours. Pictured is a weather clerk in 1934 measuring rainfall.
How many times has a major sporting event been canceled or postponed due to rain? Here, Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe Mortaza checks the wet outfield as rain falls during the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Brisbane, Australia.
The average annual rainfall in Mawsynram in northeastern India, which is recognized as the world’s wettest place by Guinness World Records, is 11,871 mm (467 in)—more than 10 times the country's national average of 1,083 mm (42 in).
The pula is the official currency of Botswana. Pula literally means "rain" in the Bantu language, and the nation's currency is named in tribute to this valuable and scarce natural resource (Botswana is home to much of the Kalahari Desert). The word also serves as the national motto of the country. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC0 1.0)
There’s far more to rain than drops of water falling to the Earth’s surface!
Cultural attitudes towards rain differ across the world. In temperate climates for example, rain metaphorically has an often sad and negative connotation. But rain can also bring joy. In drought-stricken places, a downpour can lift people’s spirits and can quite literally be a lifesaving event.
Rain has inspired films, songs, books, art, and verse. It also plays an important part in religion and mythology: various Native American tribes are known to have historically conducted rain dances in an effort to encourage rainfall, and rainmaking rituals remain important in many African cultures.
Click through the following gallery and take a look at the role rain has played in societies around the world.
Rain Day: The impact of rain on cultures and religions around the world
How a downpour can inspire, motivate, and impress
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