For me, Christmas Eve in Africa means rain. Soft rain. Warm rain. African rain. *Pula! (rain) - a blessing and a wish as powerful as “bless you” is to the Western soul. I was born in an area where rain fall never lasts longer than an hour and puddles evaporate within minutes of the clouds parting. In such a world rain is precious. Rain is survival. Rain is life, resurrection and birth.
As a small child Christmas rain would most likely be "guti" - soft soft rain on your face and hands that is more like a heavy mist than raindrops. At the coast it would be heavier more tropical rain that hisses like steam on the roads and rooftops.
As a small child Christmas rain would most likely be "guti" - soft soft rain on your face and hands that is more like a heavy mist than raindrops. At the coast it would be heavier more tropical rain that hisses like steam on the roads and rooftops.
My first Christmas in Scotland it snowed on Christmas day and I was so excited, but it was the cold sleet-rain on Christmas eve that made me feel blessed.
Wherever you are, may there always be soft rain to bless you at Christmas.
* "..pula means more than just the wet stuff which falls out the sky: it stands for luck, life and prosperity.."
Wherever you are, may there always be soft rain to bless you at Christmas.
* "..pula means more than just the wet stuff which falls out the sky: it stands for luck, life and prosperity.."
Ahhhh...I LOVE this post...indeed rain can mean survival. :-))) And now I learn more about the meanings of rain. Thanks, M! ;-D God bless you!!!
ReplyDeleteMay you be blessed too :)
ReplyDeleteRain always feels so spiritual to me. When we moved into the house we live in now I got so excited when we had our first rain--I stayed up just to listen to it to see what it sounded like from inside our house. We haven't seen a drop of rain in weeks and weeks and I'm aching for it. But hubby insists that rain is bad right now because we have baby goats "on the ground" as he puts it and it's bad enough for them that we've been having freezing temps in the morning but if they were wet on top of that many of them would die. So I have to keep my rain wishes to myself right now! I miss the wet stuff.
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