Red Sky Morning and Night

In North America, there’s a weather lore saying that goes like this:

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

That goes back to before the invention of the barometer. Sailors, farmers and others needed to predict the weather to do their job well and they developed ways to make predictions.

The red hue of the sky at sunrise or sunset does give a relatively accurate prediction of the weather ahead. Why is there a red sky?  It is the result of the scattering of sunlight into its different wavelengths on the underside of clouds. The green, blue and violet wavelengths are lost leaving the red wavelengths to illuminate the sky.

Of course, these generalizations vary widely if you are on the ocean or on the shore or in the middle of the country far from the ocean.  A red sky at night results from the light of the setting sun in the west scattering off clouds that are moving away to the east and should mean good weather ahead.

A red sky in the morning results from the light of a rising sun in the east scattering off clouds that are moving from the west (at sea, probably having accumulated moisture from their journey across the ocean), so rain is ahead.

Not all countries have that exact saying.

In Great Britain and Ireland, they say:

Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight,
Red sky in morning, fisherman’s warning.

In Denmark and Norway, it is:

Morgenrode gir dage blode.
Kveldsrode gir dage sode.
which translates to “Morning red gives wet days, Evening red gives sweet days”:

The Italian variation, which translates to “Red at night, good weather is hoped, red in the morning bad weather approaches” goes as:

Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera,
rosso di mattina mal tempo si avvicina.

A French variation, which translates to “Red at night, great hope, Red in the morning, rain on the way,” goes:

Rouge le soir, bel espoir,
Rouge le matin, de la pluie en chemin.

Summer Lore

Áine is an Irish goddess of summer

The first day of summer is the summer solstice, and it is the longest day (as in daylight) of the year. We all celebrate it in our own ways. To young people, it means time off from school. For many of us, it’s time outside, vacations etc.

Amidst all our summer joy, we often forget that after this day, the days start getting shorter.

But , what is lore anyway?

Folklore (or lore) consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, mythology, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group.

There is also an archaic meaning for folklore of a lesson, something that is learned, a traditional belief.  (lore from Old English lār; akin to Old High German lēra doctrine, and Old English leornian to learn)

Now, what have we learned through folklore about summer?

Deep snow in winter, tall grain in summer. – Estonian proverb

When the summer birds take their flight, goes the summer with them.

If it rains on Midsummer’s Eve, the filbert crops will be spoiled . –  Unknown

One swallow never made a summer.

Easterly winds from May 19 to the 21 indicate a dry summer.

If there are many falling stars during a clear summer evening, expect thunder. If there are none, expect fine weather.

In Ancient Egypt, the summer solstice coincided with the rising of the Nile River. As it was crucial to predict this annual flooding, the Egyptian New Year began at this important solstice.

Many European cultures hold Midsummer celebrations at the solstice, which include gatherings at Stonehenge and the lighting of bonfires on hilltops.

In centuries past, the Irish would cut hazel branches on Solstice Eve to be used in searching for gold, water, and precious jewels.

The fairy, Áine the Radiance was a fairy much celebrated at the summer solstice which the Christians called Saint John’s Day. Áine is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun, and is sometimes represented by a red mare. She was deemed the most powerful fairy in Ulster and she was also a fairy queen of South Munster. This fairy or goddess was held to be friendly, and, indeed, more than friendly, to men. Whether or not she were the mother of the gods, she is claimed as first ancestress by half a dozen famous Irish families.