Amman — With the first drops of rain, the details of daily life begin to change. Warm clothes return to the forefront, the earth regains its scent after the dry spell, and many people rush to capture the scene in photographs, viewing “the first rain” as a milestone they look forward to at the start of the winter season.
اضافة اعلان
The arrival of the first rain is not simply a matter of observing a change in the weather. For many people, it is associated with feelings, memories and past experiences. Some welcome it with joy, while others find comfort and tranquillity in its sound and the smell of wet earth. Still others are transported back to childhood and family memories. Responses to a scene that returns every year vary widely.
In Jordan, “the first rain” is more than a weather event people anticipate after the summer months. Its details carry deeper meanings connected to Jordanians’ relationship with their land and everyday memories. The sound of rain against windows, the smell of wet soil and streets taking on the appearance of winter all evoke familiar scenes associated with homes, neighbourhoods, villages and fields.
These conditions also bring back customs and traditions associated with the season, from family gatherings around heaters to preparing winter dishes and coming together at home on rainy days. Such details make rain part of Jordanians’ personal and collective stories, reflecting their connection to the places where they grew up.
Rima says: “The first rain washes the earth and gives the heart a feeling of comfort, as though tranquillity seeps into us with every raindrop.” She believes the first rain evokes a feeling different from that of the other rainy days of the season.
Layla Yousef, meanwhile, believes rain has the power to bring back memories and give people moments of calm. “The first raindrops and the smell of soil are enough to give us a sense of peace and comfort, but they also carry a longing that brings back beautiful memories we miss,” she says.
Jihad says the first rain brings a distinct feeling, offering him a chance to step away from the noise of everyday life and regain a sense of calm. He adds that the smell of soil after the first raindrop, the sound of rain against the windows and the quiet atmosphere all bring a sense of relief without us even realizing it. A quiet moment in a warm home may be enough to restore comfort and peace of mind.
This nostalgia is not limited to Jordanians living in the country. It also extends to expatriates living far from their cities and villages. Videos documenting rainfall in Amman, Salt, Irbid, Karak and other areas become windows through which they can reconnect with the atmosphere of home.
Watching wet streets or clouds covering mountains and old neighbourhoods may bring back childhood memories, school days, walking home in the rain or family moments that can sometimes be difficult to recall while living abroad. These scenes have thus become a means of emotional connection between expatriates and their homeland, as reflected in the way they share and engage with such videos and photographs, expressing feelings of longing.
“The first rain” therefore becomes an occasion for Jordanians to renew their relationship with their land, reaffirming that belonging to a place is not tied solely to being physically present there, but also to the memories, emotions and details that remain alive in one’s heart.
Clinical psychologist Dima Haddad explains that psychological responses to rain and winter weather differ from one person to another. People do not respond only to changes in the weather, she says, but also to the meanings and experiences associated with those changes in their memories.
Haddad says that “the first rain” may evoke feelings of comfort, calm and nostalgia in some people because the sound of rain may be associated with home and warmth, while its smell may bring back memories of childhood, school or particular people and places.
Sensory and emotional memory play an important role in this experience. Smells, sounds and scenes can trigger old memories accompanied by emotions that give people a sense of security, happiness or longing before they even identify the reason for those feelings.
Haddad adds that winter weather may give some people an opportunity to slow down their daily routines by staying at home, enjoying the quiet, reading or spending more time with family. When these conditions are associated with safe and supportive family relationships, they may strengthen feelings of closeness, care and belonging.
However, this experience does not apply to everyone. Shorter daylight hours, reduced exposure to light, changes in daily routines and activity levels may be accompanied by low mood, reduced energy and motivation, increased sleep or appetite, and a tendency to withdraw socially in some people. These changes may be limited, but they can become more pronounced and disruptive for people with seasonal affective disorder.
Haddad points out that rain may cause anxiety rather than comfort for some people, particularly those who feel stressed about driving in rainy conditions, road conditions and accidents, or thunder and storms. While the sound of rain may calm some people, it may trigger fear or apprehension in others, depending on their psychological interpretation and previous associations.
The effects of winter weather are also linked to social and economic circumstances, Haddad says. Someone living in a comfortable home with adequate heating may experience winter differently from someone for whom the cold is associated with anxiety over heating costs or a lack of access to heating.
Similarly, spending longer periods at home may bring a stable family closer together, but it may increase pressure and friction for those living in troubled relationships or facing ongoing conflicts. Changes in winter lifestyles, including reduced movement and fewer outings for some people, as well as changes in appetite and eating habits, may also affect psychological well-being.
For this reason, it is not possible to say that rain universally improves or worsens mood. Psychological responses arise from an interaction of biological, environmental and social factors, alongside personal experiences and accumulated memories.
These explanations are consistent with psychological research into the relationship between weather and mood. A study published in the journal Emotion found that weather conditions do not necessarily have a substantial overall effect on mood, although individuals differ in how strongly they respond to weather conditions. This means that people do not all respond to rain in the same way and that their reactions cannot be explained by changes in the weather alone.
Research into memory also helps explain why the smell of wet earth can evoke emotions and past experiences. Smells can trigger personal memories associated with strong emotions. The smell of rain may therefore transport someone back to the family home, school days or moments experienced during previous winters.
While some people look forward to “the first rain” as the beginning of a long-awaited season, others see it as an opportunity to revisit old memories, while for some it has no particular psychological effect. The experience ultimately depends on the personal meanings evoked by the scene and the circumstances in which each individual lives.
As Haddad puts it: “The rain is the same,” but people respond to it differently. For one person, it may mean warmth, home and nostalgia; for another, calm and renewal; and for a third, anxiety or loneliness. Our relationship with rain is shaped not only by what happens outside, but also by the memories, experiences and emotions it awakens within us.
By Taghreed Al-Saaydeh
