Rainy Day Rituals

“Sweet April showers do bring May Flowers,” is a famous phrase written by the 16th-century poet, Thomas Tusser. The phrase has been passed down through generations, often scribbled in cursive on a card or murmured as a consolation while peering out a window at a drizzly sky. It holds the hope that beauty comes after the storm, that something soft and blooming waits just on the other side of the rain. Still, when the clouds roll in and the patter begins, it can be tempting to write the day off. But what if, instead of rushing past the rainy moments, we embraced them?

We find something oddly grounding about a rainy day. The world hushes. Light takes on a cool, muted glow. The usual sounds of birds chirping, leaves rustling, or lawnmowers buzzing are softened or replaced entirely by the rhythm of rainfall against windows. Even the air smells different. Streets shimmer with puddles, and the trees seem greener under the clouds. It invites a slower pace, a softening of expectations, and a chance to trade busyness for something more reflective.

The Challenge: A Bull in a Storm on a Moor by David Cox, ca. 1850

One way you can embrace rainy days is to take them as nature’s invitation to slow down. While the sky washes the world clean, we’re permitted to stay in, to turn inward, to find comfort in the quiet. If we’re willing to accept the invitation, these gray days can become something to look forward to through what we call “rainy day rituals.”

Here are six rainy day rituals that can transform a dreary rainy day into something to look forward to.

Read a Classic Book

There’s no better backdrop for a good book than the sound of steady rain. On a rainy day, consider reaching for a classic book. Not the kind of classic you begrudgingly read in school but the kind that has lingered for a reason, something with weight, importance, and a timeless atmosphere.

Think Jane Eyre, with its brooding moors and stormy emotions. Or Little Women, where the March sisters bustle about in their New England home, finding ways to make the best of bad weather and hard times. Even The Secret Garden, with its sense of quiet discovery and soft unfolding, seems tailor-made for a day like this. These are some of our favorite Classic Book Sets to choose from.

If novels feel too much, try a collection of short stories or poetry. Something you can dip into and out of without pressure. Let the mood of the day guide your choice. Find a spot by the window, wrap yourself in a knit throw, and let the rain set the tempo for your reading. There’s something unexplainably cozy about letting yourself be still and reading words that have stood the test of time.

Bake Something Delicious

Rainy days were made for slow baking. Not rushed weekday meals or pre-mixed shortcuts, but the kind of cooking that fills the kitchen with warmth and the scent of vanilla, cinnamon, or melting butter. It might be a loaf of bread, an old-fashioned cake, or maybe even a warm batch of scones served with butter and jam.

There’s a kind of reverence in baking on a rainy day. The soft clink of measuring spoons, the flour clouds, the pause while things rise or brown. These moments bring you into rhythm with the day, and when it’s all done, you have something tangible and delicious to share or savor. Better still, the act itself slows you down and brings you into the present. It’s hard to worry about the future when you’re folding dough or watching butter melt into sugar.

A few of our favorite rainy day recipes include Puffy Apple Dumplings or Orange Angel Cake from the Anne of Green Gables Cookbook, or a Bluberry Buckle Coffee Cake from the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.

Start or Write in a Journal

Rain has a way of slowing down our thoughts just enough to notice them. It’s easy to rush through days without ever really taking stock of how we feel, what we’re learning, or what we’ve left unspoken. A rainy day is the perfect backdrop for gathering those loose threads and putting them somewhere they can settle.

Start fresh in a new notebook, or return to an old one. We as humans often remember big events but forget the details about the middling memories or small pleasantries of our lives. Those are great things to write about. Write about what’s been making you anxious, hopeful, or tender lately. Don’t worry about making it sound good; just write honestly.

You can even create a journal that’s part scrapbook, part diary. Tape in little things from the day like a dried flower, a piece of the bread wrapper from your baking, or a ticket stub from a movie or performance. These fragments become part of your story. 

Journaling is a conversation with yourself, one that deepens over time. On rainy days, when the world feels more contemplative, that conversation flows a little more easily. Let your journal be a place where you make sense of the season of life you’re in.

Try Pressing Flowers or Leaves

Rainy days offer a special kind of stillness, and if you happen to have flowers indoors or greenery from a walk earlier in the week, you can preserve that moment with the gentle act of pressing. You might even press something from the rainy day itself, whether it’s a damp leaf, a fallen blossom from the garden, or a sprig of rosemary from the kitchen.

Choose a few blooms or leaves and place them between sheets of parchment and inside a thick book. Tuck the book away under something heavy and forget about it for a week or two. Later, you’ll find tiny, paper-thin memories waiting to be turned into bookmarks, cards, or tucked into your journal. If you don’t have a thick book or want something dedicated to flower pressing, you might like this miniature flower press.

There’s something quietly hopeful about this ritual. It’s a way of saying this beauty mattered. Even if only for a moment. Even if no one else saw it. The practice connects you to the seasons and helps cultivate an eye for the subtle and fleeting. It is a simple act of honoring nature’s small wonders.

Write a Letter by Hand

Rainy days are a great time to write a letter. Not a text or an email, but an actual, handwritten letter. Something small and personal. Pick someone: an old friend, a cousin you haven’t talked to in a while, your sister across town. Or even someone you see every day, just to say something nice. You don’t need a reason. A short note is enough. It doesn’t need to be deep or poetic, something heartfelt will do.

There’s something a little more real about a letter. Your handwriting, your scratch-outs, and side notes, it’s all part of it. It’s a way to say, “I’m thinking of you,” in a way that feels human. And if you’ve got letters from others tucked away somewhere, maybe take a minute to read one or two. Old letters are like little time machines, full of voices and moments we might’ve forgotten.

Listen to the Rain and Be Present

Sometimes, the best ritual is the simplest one. Just stop. Sit in your favorite chair, maybe with a cup of something warm, and listen. Look out the window and watch the way the rain moves, the way it gathers and slips down the glass. Let your thoughts drift and your mind rest.

There is power in doing nothing, not scrolling or worrying about your endless list of things you need to get done. Just being. Just breathing. Just listening. Even a few minutes of being present can be refreshing. On rainy days, this might be the most healing ritual of all.

Spring Rain by William Anderson Coffin

A Closing Thought

The saying goes that “sweet April showers do bring May flowers,” and while it’s often meant to encourage patience through gray weather, there’s a quiet truth tucked inside it. Rain, for all its gloom, is what allows the blooming. It nurtures the roots, softens the soil, and makes way for newness. The same can be said for us. A rainy day is a chance to root deeper. To read, to bake, to write, to preserve, to reflect. The more we practice these rainy day rituals, the more rainy days can be something to look forward to rather than a storm to weather. Next time the sky turns dark and the rain begins to fall, take it as a sign to pull out a book, preheat the oven, or slow down and be present.