I recently watched a TikTok video from the Shark Farmer describing an old wives’ tale about how if it rains on Easter there will be rain the next seven Sundays. Rob Sharkey is in a little wetter area in his Corn Belt location than the High Plains I live in, but he’d actually experienced some truth to the tale. He shared a couple of times in recent years they’ve had rain on Easter and several Sundays following.
It just so happened to have rained on Easter Sunday in my neck of the woods or as I so affectionately call it, out here in hell. Just under a quarter inch. We haven’t gotten much rain yet this year, and I’ve learned to appreciate every little drop.
I promptly google searched the tale and found a mixed bag as to origins of the saying and the majority of the mentions of it weren’t very positive. One was a blog from an Illinois meteorologist, and he knocked down the tale and basically said it was impossible.
So, my unscientific brain went and investigated the last five years of precipitation data the Dodge City office of the National Weather Service has online. There was very little rain if any at all on Easter Sunday since 2021, and even less in the seven Sundays following the holiday.
Did people once upon a time come up with old wives’ tales to make up for the disappointments Mother Nature brought to them? Maybe. Did they have instances where they recorded their own data? My father-in-law and dad used to keep a pocket calendar with how much rain they got on a day and what the weather was like, in addition to any farm work they completed for that day. It was kind of neat to look back at the ones I’ve found with their handwriting.
It’s often said farmers and ranchers are the most hopeful when it comes to their chosen profession and lifestyle. They depend on Mother Nature to take care of their watering and plant growth. They spend thousands of dollars a year getting seeds into the ground with the hope it will come up and make it to harvest. They put all their eggs in the proverbial basket hoping for a great outcome.
Ranchers send their calves to town with the hope of catching the market highs and not be at the bottom of the cattle cycle. They hope their research and bull choices match what the buyers are looking for during that particular week.
The word Easter has origins from the goddess Eostre, the Germanic goddess of dawn who is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. Most often Eostre is associated with spring and new life. Maybe that’s why whoever spread the tale about rain on Easter did so. Maybe they wanted to spread the wealth throughout spring and prepare for the summer heat.
Whatever the reason, it’s something to look forward to. Especially when spring rains are few and far between. And since I started writing this column, we’ve managed to get a few nice, timely rains out here on the High Plains.
Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].
