What Does Rain at a Funeral Mean?

Rain at a funeral is said to be good luck. It is an omen that the deceased has passed into heaven. And it means that God is shedding tears of joy at their arrival. Some superstitions also say the rain is God shedding tears of sorrow along with those who are mourning the death.

What Does It Mean When It Rains at a Funeral

Rain at a funeral means admittance to heaven. However, rain during the funeral might mean another death in your family. And finally, rain after a funeral, especially with the presence of a rainbow, is an affirmation that the deceased is resting in peace with God. How can rain have so much importance at a funeral? Let’s look at some of its meanings.

Does Rain Bring Good Luck?

Since rain symbolizes life, fertility, and renewal it is considered to bring good luck in many cultures around the world. It often has a soothing effect on us, which is thought to put us in the right frame of mind to bring more luck.

Although rain is sometimes a portrayal of sadness in movies and books, it is more often associated with rebirth and growth. The feelings of cleansing and renewal that rain brings offer us peace and relief from mourning. These positive feelings may be the root of some of the superstitions surrounding rain and funerals.

While rain on an already sad day may at first make the funeral seem even gloomier, it is said to bring good luck to the deceased and mourners.

Meaning Of Rain During A Funeral

An important piece of recognizing superstitions surrounding rain at funerals is that we are often provoked by the absence of a loved one to notice things around us. Perhaps great loss drives mourners to find supernatural meaning in ordinary things. Or perhaps supernatural meaning exists all around us if we are open to it.

Victorian era mourners believed that rain during a funeral meant the deceased had arrived at the pearly gates of heaven. Knowing that the deceased was heaven-bound comforted family members during their grief.

British Victorians felt so strongly about rain during funerals that this couplet became popular, “Happy is the bride that the sun shines on, happy is the corpse that the rain rains on.”

Today, people still believe that raindrops are tears from heaven, honoring our devastating losses. Similarly, mourners often believe that brilliant sunshine after a rainstorm symbolizes heaven celebrating a new angel in its midst. It’s a comforting thought.

Meaning Of Rain On An Open Casket

If it rains on an open casket, it was said to mean that someone in the family would die within the next year. To me, this superstition seems easily remedied by simply not opening the casket outside, especially if the skies are cloudy and heavy with precipitation.

What About Rain After The Funeral?

Rain after a funeral is another good omen. The rain symbolizes heaven washing away grief and sorrow. It also signifies cleansing and eternal life for the deceased. For mourners, rain after the funeral gives them peace that the departed is celebrating in heaven.

Rainbows after the service were also a good sign during Victorian times. The appearance of a rainbow after the funeral provided further proof that the deceased was now with God. These signs comforted mourners back then and they still give comfort now.

The Role Of Thunder At Funerals

In some areas, rain is often accompanied by thunder and lightning. So it stands to reason that thunder should also play a role in the superstitions surrounding rain and funerals.

For example, a loud thunderclap at the end of the funeral service meant the person had been accepted into heaven. Their journey through the afterlife has proven successful.

However, if thunder boomed during the ceremony, it meant that the deceased was not accepted into heaven. But instead, they would spend eternity in hell.

Risking the possibility of thunder booming at all during my funeral is enough for me to ask my family to only bury me on a sunny day!

What Do Heavy Raindrops Mean?

Rain in the form of large heavy drops portends an imminent death. Or they could mean that someone you knew just died. Either way, the size of a raindrop was said to have significance in history’s not-so-distant past.

What Does the Bible Say About Rain at a Funeral

Mourners often believe that rain signifies God’s joy at one of his beloved entering the heavens. However, others believe raindrops are God’s tears of sadness sharing the grief of those left behind.

If God is shedding tears of joy at a new soul’s arrival into heaven, how then can he also be shedding tears of sorrow for the mourners? The Bible has much to say about rain and storms, much of it leading to God being in control of all situations.

Throughout biblical times, God sent drought as an act of judgment. It was a way to call his people back to him. He was also the master of storms and could calm the mightiest of squalls. Matthew 8:26 says, “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

By sending rain at a funeral, it is said that God is shedding his tears. They may be tears of sadness for mourners AND tears of joy that a soul has arrived in heaven. Mourners can find comfort because both of these options show the heart of a loving God.

What Does Hinduism Say About Rain?

Hindus believe the suggested journey for a soul to travel the path to its new body is through raindrops. The rain falls to the ground where it is absorbed into plant life. Very simply, when the plant is eaten by humans or animals, the soul can later then be reborn through human birth.

Since rain is a treasured part of renewal and birth, it is seen in Hinduism as a good omen at funerals.

Superstitions Surrounding Weather And Death

There are many superstitions surrounding death and the weather. They weren’t restricted to only the funeral, as weather signs and death seemed to go hand-in-hand. Here are a few to consider.

• While attending the funeral, if the sun broke through on a cloudy day and only lit one mourner’s face, then that person should get their affairs in order, since they were next to die.
• However, if the sun shone on the entire group of mourners at a funeral, then the deceased was said to have swiftly and surely entered heaven.
• If it rained shortly after a death occurred, Victorians believed that it portrayed a cleansing of the deceased’s soul. Families felt comforted by sudden cloudy outbursts after a loved one died.
• If a rainbow’s arch stretched over your house, someone in the household would die within the week.
• On the other hand, rainbows after a funeral meant the deceased was accepted into heaven.
• In addition to being the tears of God, raindrops during a funeral were thought to be the tears of angels, crying for the deceased.

Rain And Grief

Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one often find comfort in the skies. Signs of angels in the clouds give comfort. And rain can soothe us in our grief to remind us that all life stems from water.

Rain, clouds, thunder, and rainbows are all powerful signs of love and connection to those who have gone before us. A majestic sunrise may remind us of the gift of another day’s dawning. We think of the departed and hold their memories close, even as we marvel at the reds and golds of the morning’s sun among the clouds.

We listen more closely to our own soul’s whispers when we see rainbows. They help us recall the beauty of our departed loved ones. And they sing softly that even in death, we are loved.

Conclusion

It is easy to see how rain at funerals became such a focal point of importance to our ancestors. We can better understand their superstitions when we open our hearts to nature’s call.

• Rain during a funeral means our loved one has arrived in heaven.
• A loud thunderclap after a funeral means our loved one was accepted into heaven.
• And rain after a funeral signifies heaven is washing away our grief.

What comforting thoughts those are, no matter our religious backgrounds. Rain symbolizes harvest. And with time, patience, and nurturing our hearts can heal even when death tells us all hope is lost.

Rain provides a cleansing and healing reprieve from the grips of death. It reminds us that tomorrow beckons and with it comes the promise of hope. Even while so much superstition surrounds death, we can gain comfort in the beauty of rainfall.

Comfort that our loved ones are at peace. And the comfort that rain is a blessing. It falls from the heavens to quench the thirst of earth and in doing so, it offers us life.