April Showers Bring May Flowers"

We’ve all heard the rhyme, but you might not know where the rhyme originated. It can be officially traced back to the mid-1500s, although earlier use of the phrase probably existed.

The first instance in writing comes from a poem published in 1557, written by a farmer named Thomas Tusser. His poem, compiled in rhyming couplets, was called A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry and contained instructions and observations about farming and country customs in the Tudor period of England. In the April Husbandry section he wrote:

Swéete April showers,

Doo bring Maie flowers.

Tusser could have been referring to something agrarian societies have probably known for millennia...at least those living in particular temperate zones. Basically, the influx of rain in April coincides with the warming of the weather in May which brings forth flowers.

But since he was also a keen observer of life and a poet, he could as easily been using the phrase metaphorically as a reminder to look for opportunity in adversity.