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St. Swithin's Day is 15 July, a day on which people watch the weather for tradition says that
whatever the weather is like on St. Swithin's Day, it will continue so for the next forty days.

There is a weather-rhyme is well known throughout the British Isles since Elizabethan times.

St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.

St. Swithin (or more properly, Swithun) was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester. He was born in the
kingdom of Wessex and educated in its capital, Winchester. He was famous for charitable gifts
and building churches.

A legend says that as the Bishop lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried out of doors, where
he would be trodden on and rained on. For nine years, his wishes were followed, but then, the
monks of Winchester attempted to remove his remains to a splendid shrine inside the cathedral
on 15 July 971. According to legend there was a heavy rain storm either during the ceremony or
on its anniversary.

This led to the old wives' tale (folklore) that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day (July 15th), it will rain
for the next 40 days in succession, and a fine 15th July will be followed by 40 days of fine weather.

However, according to the Met Office, this old wives' tale is nothing other than a myth. It has been
put to the test on 55 occasions*, when it has been wet on St. Swithin's Day and 40 days of rain did
not follow. copied from projectbritain.com

* source: the book entitled Red Sky At Night

More on St. Swithin: http://www.dandantheweatherman.com/Bereklauw/swithin.html