by Abigail Luftig

Created on: March 25, 2008

Ask any random person on any random street in the whole of the UK and they'll tell you that one of the biggest factors of living in this country is putting up with the rain. Even now as I write this, I hear the persistent pattering of raindrops against my window. For some people, rain is depressing and a sign of bad things. For others, rain is comforting and soothing. But how do other cultures view this act of nature?

For many in the Western World, rain is viewed as a negative thing. Children's rhymes like Rain Rain Go Away present the depressing rain as a stark contrast to the bright, happy, warming sun. But this way of thinking is not norm for the Eastern World, such as Africa and the Middle East. Due to the agricultural nature of their society, rain is viewed as a soothing, joyful, sometimes beautiful gift. In fact, in drought-ridden Botswana, the word for rain', "pula" is also the name of the currency, which helps to solidify the position of importance rain holds in this agricultural region.

While no blushing bride would want it to pour down rain by the bucketful on her special day, it is in fact a sign of good fortune in many cultures. People around the world believe that rain falling on your wedding day is a sure sign that your marriage will be blessed with fertility and good fortune. On the opposite side of life, if it rains during a funeral, and rain falls on the casket, it is generally taken to mean that the soul has arrived safely in the Afterlife.

Judeo-Christians look to the story of Noah to base their beliefs of the negativity of rain. In the story of Noah, God was angry and brought his anger down in the form of forty days and nights of unceasing rain, choosing only to spare the favored family of Noah. The tradition was picked up in Shakespearean literature. For example, the rainstorm in King Lear marked the high point of Lear's madness. Throughout the whole of The Tempest, rain is seen as a negative thing, a sign of trouble. Even in modern weather reports, the negative connotations of rain holds firm. When a storm is on the way, weather reporters sound almost apologetic when bringing this news to us. To be "in the eye of the storm" is to put oneself in great danger. To experience "the calm before the storm" is to know that danger is coming.

Native American culture, again a largely agricultural society, views rain differently. To the Anasazi tribe, rain is a sacred gift from the Rain God. Artwork from the tribe shows the Rain God as a benevolent figure

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