Rainbows as signs of thank you, hope and solidarity

_Elsa_

Elsa comes across an article that was posted almost a year ago. The title catches her eye, so she begins to read it.

‘You might have noticed a handmade motif brightening your neighbourhood windows in recent weeks. Children’s painted rainbows have been popping up in windows across the world as schools close and households observe social-distancing rules. In those countries where exercise is allowed, children can count them as they walk by, enjoying a sense of community at a time when they cannot see their friends or visit playgrounds, and perhaps gleaning hope of a brighter time once the pandemic storm passes. 

An idea that’s thought to have started in Italy after the lockdown in March, it’s captured imaginations across Europe and the US, with rainbows posted up in flats and houses around the world. You might have painted one yourself or helped someone make one. 

Rainbows are a symbol of hope in many cultures. They appear as perfect arcs, often during a rainstorm when the sun shines onto water droplets, shattering its white light into an array of brilliant colours. (They are actually full circles, but to see the half that falls below the horizon, you would have to view the rainbow from the sky, such as in a plane.) In Christian culture, a rainbow promises better times to come – the Abrahamic god sent one to Noah after the great flood as a sign that people could go forth and multiply without fear of another calamitous drowning. Rainbows are frequently represented in Western art and culture, as a sign of hope and promise of better times to come. 

However, the hope expressed in a rainbow is frequently tinged with pathos. According to Irish legend, the end of a rainbow marks where leprechauns have buried a pot of the gold they stole from the Vikings. But since you can only see a rainbow if you are far away from it, and they appear to move as you move, the promise remains elusive. Somewhere over the rainbow, “dreams come true” and “troubles melt like lemon drops”, as Judy Garland sang in the Wizard of Oz musical. But this magical place is unattainable, she laments: “Birds fly over the rainbow – why then, oh why, can’t I?” 

Spirit in the sky

Rainbows are a relatively common meteorological phenomenon, presumably seen by every human since the dawn of our species, and across the world cultures have sought diverse meaning in a translucent arc in the sky. For the Aboriginal people of Pennefather River in North Queensland, Australia, the rainbow is a very brightly coloured snake that appears to stop rain that has been made by their enemies. The rainbow-serpent is a very important and powerful spirit throughout Aboriginal Dreamtime culture, thought to be the oldest continuous religious belief in the world, and is depicted in rock art dating back at least 10,000 years.’ (Source)

She thought that she had read everything about the Pandemic last year when she saw pictures of people clapping their hands at a certain time of day. She didn’t realize that they also did rainbow things too. 

Let’s continue – Rainbows in mythology

Start at the beginning - Elsa learns all about rainbows