A Fair February

February was expected to be wet, and the old rhyme said it should fill the dyke either with the black or the white, meaning rain or snow, with the rider that white was the better of the two. A mild, bright February was thought a bad sign for the rest of the year. Ray collected an English proverb that a Welshman would rather see his own mother on her bier than a fair February, and the Scots said that all the months of the year curse a fair Februeer. Chambers linked these sayings with the belief that a fine Candlemas means more winter to come.