Saint Paul’s Day

January 25 is St. Paul’s day, a festival of the Roman and English churches in commemoration of St. Paul. This day is thought to be prophetic as to the weather of the year:

“If St. Paul’s day be fair and clear, It doth betide a happy year; If blustering winds do blow aloft. Then wars will trouble our realm full oft; And if it chance to snow or rain, Then will be dear all sorts of grain.”

In Germany when the day proved foul the common people used to drag the images of St. Paul and St. Urban in disgrace to duck them in the river.

• On the day of the conversion of St . Paul, (January 25th,) the four winds wrestle and the winner will blow most of the year. (Belgium.)
• If it rains on St. Paul’s day there will be plenty of mushrooms. (Bohemia.)

Other omens and folklore for St Paul’s day include the following:

• Fire will not burn a man born on St . Paul’s day, but if a woman who was born on that day is burned, the wound will never heal.
• Interestingly, in Sicily, it doesn’t matter what day you were born on – if you are a man fire will not burn you, but if you are a woman it will not only burn, it will eventually cause your death!

On a more positive note:

• If you set your hens to hatch on Paul’s day, they will become good layers.

Found in: Encyclopedia of superstitions, folklore, and the occult