Rain as Good Luck (Bethany Burns)

Title: Rain as Good Luck

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore, wedding superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Haven Burns
  • Date Collected: 2-24-18

Informant Data:

  • Haven Burns was born on October 12, 1970, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was starting his own business at the time. She lived in Chattanooga for the all of her young life, attended college in Knoxville, Tennessee at the University of Tennessee, and then moved around many times from Georgia, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona, and finally settled back in Tennessee. She met her now-husband, Kirk Burns, working at Shaw Carpet Industries in Dalton, Georgia. Kirk lived in Kansas for the majority of his life and attended the University of Kansas before ending up in Georgia. They both shared religious values, attending the Episcopal Church in their youth and beyond.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In American culture, rain on the wedding day is widely considered good luck because it is said to cleanse the marriage and provide the newlyweds with a fresh start to their marriage. Haven’s wedding was in 1996 at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church on Signal Mountain, Tennessee.
  • Social Context: This folklore item was the first the informant mentioned about her wedding, as she believes it is one of the reasons her marriage has been successful thus far. She explained this when asked about any special parts of her wedding.

Item:

  • On a couple’s wedding day, it is considered good luck if it is raining. Although the rain provides more difficulty moving from venue to venue, taking pictures, and keeping the bride’s dress in good shape, the rain is cleansing the couple and allowing for a fresh start to the marriage.

Transcript:

  • “When I woke up and rain was coming down, I initially was upset because I knew our pictures would have to be inside, and I worried that my dress would get ruined going from home to church. But once I talked to my mom, she mentioned that this would provide me good luck in my marriage, and I’ve been married for 22 years so I’ve been really fortunate in my marriage and I think the rain was a good sign.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • One of my favorite things about this superstition is that it makes something that seems bad into a good sign. The rain certainly provides challenges logistically on the wedding day, but it allows the couple to focus on the positives and remain excited about the future to come.

Collector’s Name: Bethany Burns

Photo credit: Haven Burns

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