When the first downpour of the country lands, Filipinos waste no time ushering in the rainy season and ensuring that no story will be left untold. Every year, the gloomy months of tag-ulan welcome an insightful mix of narratives that shape our media, culture, and everyday lives.
These notable anecdotes weave in and out of our urgent measures, preparations, and plans of action, watering our seeds of experiences and pressing truths from all walks of life. We’ve practically grown up with the rain, thus unearthing shared traditions and superstitions between ourselves and our loved ones that call for annual revisits. Think of your go-to rainy day movies, books, and songs—only more sentimental and distinctly Pinoy.
Photo: VIVA Films/YouTube
Take “Ulan,” for example, Irene Villamor’s poignant and whimsical romance-drama from 2019 that’s now free to stream on YouTube. The film stars Nadine Lustre as Maya, who seeks solace in the rain as she grapples with kindergarten bullies, career crossroads, and her worst nightmares come true: watching her relationships crumble beneath the most ruthless storms. The rain follows Maya around like a cranky nimbus cloud above her head from childhood to young adulthood, plaguing her life’s breakthroughs and turning points in ways complex and compelling.
We’ve all been Maya at some point in our lives—thrust into unfavorable circumstances with unresolved grievances hot on our tails, all while powering through our own internal storms under dreary and dull skies. If you’ve ever found yourself cursing the rain and waiting for a response that never arrived, these superstitions and nods to Filipino folklore can make even a little sense out of the weather’s cruel tricks.
Agua de Mayo
Photo: VIVA Films/YouTube
Directly translating to “Water of May,” the first rainfall of May postures itself as an uplifting starting point for your healing journey. The occasion, though never set on a specific date or time, is said to bring healing powers to whoever stands beneath it. Taking a bath in Agua de Mayo can allegedly cure any sickness you carry, enrich your skin, get rid of wrinkles, and smoothen your hair. Though bathing in the rain has become a core childhood memory for all of us, exposing yourself too much to it can harbor more illnesses than health benefits. We can take after Natasha Bedingfield in “Unwritten” and “feel the rain on our skin” every once in a while, but staying indoors is still your best bet for maintaining your health throughout the rainy season.
Tikbalangs tying the knot
Photo: VIVA Films/YouTube
The first act of “Ulan” introduces us to the romantic connection between tikbalangs and sunshowers. According to the long-time superstition, spotting rain while the sun is out indicates the wedding of two tikbalangs. Their sacred union signifies a cherished bond that they still pursued despite the universe opposing it. If half-horse humanoids can find their true love in a world that doesn’t want them to, then who are we to lose hope in meeting who’s meant for us? There’s a handful of romance sprinkled across Philippine mythology. Tikbalangs getting married under a vivid sunshower gives us hope that, under their terrifying physique, they long for a life-altering love story just as much as we do.
Singing off-key summons extreme rain
Photo: Matthew Jungling/Unsplash
You might’ve heard this superstition before as a quip from a family member or classmate. If you’ve ever been told to stop singing while it’s raining, that’s because singing out of tune is said to summon severe downpours. This goes without explanation—there’s no scientific connection between the rain and people’s voices. If singing in the rain does, in fact, give you a glorious feeling, then no one’s stopping you from belting it out ‘til your heart’s content. Don’t worry, the sky won’t reprimand you or teleport you to the weather gods for a punishment. The sky won’t calm down to listen to your runs and high notes, either, but it’s worth a shot, anyway.
Red as a forbidden color
Photo: Evgenii Vasilenko/Unsplash
This superstition forbids you to wear red on a rainy day unless you want to get struck by lightning. It’s the rainy season equivalent of the action-packed conflict between bulls and matadors with their signature red capes. Except lightning won’t target you, or anyone trying to upset it with red pieces of clothing. It knows no color triggers or catalysts for its next crooked slice through the sky. Instead of hiding all the red clothes in your closet, it’s best to stay updated on local and national weather forecasts and thunderstorm advisories to avoid open areas in vulnerable positions to lightning strikes. You can do all this with utmost caution while wearing red, too.
Dampness from the streets causes stomach aches
Photo: Jan Zinnbauer/Unsplash
More of a myth than a superstition, stomach aches can allegedly occur from petrichor—the ground’s and soil’s earthy, damp scent that usually grows stronger after an intense rainstorm that follows a long period of dry weather. There’s no scientific connection between the street’s dampness and our bodily reactions. However, despite this debunked belief, there are still several sicknesses that the rainy season brings about.
According to Dr. Regina Victoria Boyles, MD, we can end up with common sicknesses like colds, asthma, and allergies if we stay in the rain too long without any head-to-toe protection. Symptoms may worsen, too, and lead to more crucial illnesses such as pneumonia and the flu. Nobody is absolutely immune to these ailments no matter how safe they are from the rain. Still, there’s treatment available for them that shouldn’t be too detrimental to our physical health as long as we stock up on medicine, take rain checks, stay indoors as much as possible, and believe in facts over superstitions without totally disregarding their contributions to our culture.
ALSO READ: PAGASA Declares the Start of Rainy Season
Do you abide by any rainy day superstitions? Tell us in the comments below!
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