15th of July - St Swithuns Day
15th of July is the 196th day of the year
St Swithuns Day:
Most saints’ days mark the death or birth of the person in question, but St Swithun (or St Swithin) has his on the 15th of July for a different reason, linked to the only thing we tend to remember about him these days, if we remember anything at all. Swithun was the Bishop of Winchester in the middle of the 9th century, thus in his day a powerful figure. He died in about 862, and was buried in the churchyard of the cathedral as he had modestly requested. When on July 15th 971 in accordance with his saintly status his remains were transferred indoors 40 days of rain ensued, the downpour continuing until he was returned to the exterior. The folk-belief grew afterwards that if it rains on St Swithin’s day we will have 40 days of such weather, but if the sun shines we’ll get 40 days of that. It is not known if this is part of the Met Office’s weather-forecast algorithm. One legend that ought to be better-known about Swithun is that he is said to have accompanied the young Alfred to Rome, a key moment for one of our most important rulers.
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