Oiled-paper umbrellas are not only used for everyday tasks like protecting people from sunshine and rain, they are also an indispensable item in some wedding traditions.
 

 

月亮撑红伞，有大雨。
When the moon holds a red umbrella, heavy rain is coming.
 

The “red umbrella” in the proverb refers to the red halo around the moon during a cloudless or partly clouded night. There is science behind this observation though, as this halo can be caused by dust and water vapor in the air, which are common conditions before heavy rain.

 

月亮撑蓝伞，多风云。
The moon holds a blue umbrella, winds and clouds gather.
 

Similar to the last proverb, the moon holding “a blue umbrella” refers to the blue halo around the moon on a cloudless or partly clouded night. On these occasions there is less dust in the air and the light with the shortest waves can be seen, which makes the moon appear to have a blue haze and indicates that there will be wind and clouds, but no rain.

 

久晴大雾必阴, 久阴大雾必晴。
If the sky remains sunny for a long time and a fog appears, then rain is certain to come. If the sky remains rainy for a long time and fog appears, then the sunshine is certain to come.
 

When there has been sunny weather for a long time, the air is dry and it is difficult for fog to be created. But if heavy fog appears under such circumstances, it indicates that there is a lot of warm, humid air and that rain is sure to come.
 

If there has been rain for a long time and a fog suddenly appears, the sky is likely to turn sunny because the fog has been created by a cooling effect that also indicates the rainy weather is at an end.