Weather Superstitions for Weddings: How Couples Wish Away Rain

The most widely practiced weather superstitions for weddings are offering eggs to St. Clare (a Spanish custom that thrives in the Philippines), hanging a rosary on the clothesline the night before (French Canadian, Italian and Nova Scotian families), hanging a teru teru bozu doll (Japan) and sticking a knife into the ground when clouds gather (Mexican folk custom). They come from different faiths and continents, but they share one idea: when the sky is out of your hands, do something with your hands.

Here are ten verified traditions, where each one comes from and how to use it today. We only include practices we could trace to real sources. You will also find a note on one very common mix-up.

Why Weddings Attract Weather Superstitions

Before reliable forecasts, a wedding was a huge gamble. Families had spent months of income, guests traveled on foot or by cart, and rain could ruin food, clothes and roads. Asking a saint, a doll or the sky itself for help was a natural response. Many of these customs also said rain was lucky, which helped when the charms did not work. More on that in our guide to what rain on your wedding day means.

1. Eggs for St. Clare (Spain and the Philippines)

This is the best documented of all wedding weather charms. In Spain, the custom of bringing eggs to the convent of the Poor Clares to pray for a clear wedding day is said to go back to medieval times. The nuns were known as the order of St. Clare, and the link is wordplay: Clara sounds like "clear," and la clara is Spanish for egg white.

The custom traveled to the Philippines with the Poor Clares, who arrived in 1621. Today, Filipino couples still bring eggs, often a dozen and often wrapped in colorful cellophane, to the Monasterio de Santa Clara in Quezon City and ask the nuns for good weather on their date. The Philippine Daily Inquirer has written about how popular the practice remains, and about the nuns' gentle reminders that prayer, not eggs, is the point.

How to use it: If you are near a Poor Clare monastery, ask whether they accept prayer requests and offerings. Otherwise, a donation of eggs or food to a local food bank in St. Clare's name keeps the spirit of the gift.

2. A Rosary on the Clothesline

In French Canadian, Italian and Nova Scotian families, someone (often a grandmother) hangs a rosary on the clothesline the night before the wedding to keep rain away. Some families do it the morning of the wedding if it is already raining. It is folk Catholicism rather than church teaching, and a few priests roll their eyes at it, but it has been passed down for generations.

How to use it: Ask an older relative to do it with you. The ritual matters more than the clothesline; a porch railing works fine.

3. Teru Teru Bozu (Japan)

A small white doll made from tissue or cloth, hung by a window the night before an event to ask for sunshine. It became popular in Edo-period Japan and has its own 1921 children's song. Hang it head-down and you are asking for rain, so be careful. Here is our full guide on how to make a teru teru bozu, including a wedding craft idea.

4. A Knife in the Ground (Mexico and Beyond)

In Mexican folk tradition, sticking a knife into the earth when the first dark cloud appears is said to "cut" the storm and turn the rain away. It is often traced to farmers protecting crops. A similar belief exists in parts of the Philippines, where a knife is placed outside during a typhoon to "cut" the wind.

How to use it: Symbolically, a small kitchen knife in a flower pot works. Please do not plant blades where guests or kids will walk.

5. "Santa Clara Clareou" (Brazil)

St. Clare shows up again in Brazil. A traditional children's rhyme, "Santa Clara clareou, São Domingos alumiou, vai chuva, vem sol" ("St. Clare made it clear, St. Dominic lit it up, go away rain, come sun"), is chanted to chase rain away. It was later turned into a popular song.

6. St. Médard's Day (France)

St. Médard, a sixth-century bishop of Noyon, became France's great weather saint. His feast day is June 8, and the proverb goes: "S'il pleut à la Saint-Médard, il pleut quarante jours plus tard", if it rains on St. Médard's day, it will rain for forty days more. Luckily St. Barnabas (June 11) "can still fix everything," according to the second half of the saying. Médard is also invoked for good harvests and fair weather.

How to use it: For a June wedding, especially with French heritage, a toast to St. Médard and St. Barnabas makes a fun bit of lore for the program.

7. St. Swithin's Day (England)

The English equivalent falls on July 15. The rhyme says: "St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain; St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair, for forty days 'twill rain no mair." The legend says Swithin, a ninth-century bishop of Winchester, was so upset when his remains were moved into the cathedral in 971 that it rained for forty days. Historians note that no early account of the move mentions rain at all, and meteorologists have found no forty-day pattern either.

8. "Rain, Rain, Go Away"

The English children's charm is older than most people think. In 1659, James Howell recorded "Raine, raine, goe to Spain: faire weather come againe," and John Aubrey noted around the same time that children would sing to "charm away the rain." We cover the rhyme, and what actually helps, in how to stop rain.

9. Prayers to Weather Saints

Beyond eggs and rosaries, many Catholic and Orthodox families simply pray for fair weather, often to St. Clare, St. Médard or St. Scholastica (who, in a famous story, prayed for a storm, which is why she is invoked about rain). Couples of other faiths and none have their own versions. If you would like words to use, we wrote several original options in our guide to prayers for good weather.

10. Rain Is Lucky Anyway

The last superstition is the safety net. Across many cultures, rain on your wedding day is considered good luck: fertility, cleansing, a fresh start. It is the folklore equivalent of a backup tent. Read more in is rain on your wedding day good luck.

A Common Mix-Up: St. Joseph Is for Real Estate

You will see "bury a St. Joseph statue" on many wedding-weather lists. That custom is real, but it is for selling a house: American homeowners bury a small St. Joseph statue in the yard, often upside down, and dig it up once the house sells. It has nothing to do with weather. If you want a saint for a sunny wedding, tradition points to St. Clare.

Summary Table

Tradition	Where from	What you do	Best for
Eggs for St. Clare	Spain, Philippines	Offer eggs to Poor Clare nuns	Catholic couples, Filipino families
Rosary on the clothesline	French Canada, Italy, Nova Scotia	Hang a rosary outside the night before	Family ritual with grandparents
Teru teru bozu	Japan	Hang a white tissue doll by a window	DIY décor, guest craft
Knife in the ground	Mexico, Philippines	Stick a knife in soil as clouds gather	Day-of folk charm
"Santa Clara clareou"	Brazil	Chant the rhyme	Kids, Brazilian families
St. Médard / St. Swithin	France / England	Watch the saint's day, toast the saint	June and July weddings
"Rain, rain, go away"	England	Sing it	Everyone

What Actually Helps on the Day

Charms soothe the nerves. Data and planning protect the day:

• Know your real odds. Our free wedding rain odds tool shows the historical chance of rain for your exact date and place.
• Book the tent early. Rental companies sell out during wet weeks.
• Buy clear umbrellas for photos and a stack of towels for chairs.
• Make one decision deadline, usually 48 to 72 hours out, and stick to it.

If you want a modern charm to go with the old ones, our personal wedding weather ritual is performed for your date and location before the day, with photo proof and a written blessing. Like every tradition on this page, it is a wish, not a guarantee.

The Bottom Line

Couples around the world have always tried to charm the weather: eggs for St. Clare in Spain and Manila, a rosary on the clothesline in Quebec and Nova Scotia, a tissue doll in Japan, a knife in the ground in Mexico, and a chant to the saints in Brazil. St. Médard and St. Swithin will predict forty days of rain for you, and St. Joseph will sell your house. None of them is a forecast, but all of them make the waiting easier. Pick one that fits your family, check your actual rain odds, and plan for both outcomes.