Today February 10th is Umbrella Day............

Today February 10th is Umbrella Day............

The umbrella was invented about four thousand years ago. There is some evidence of umbrellas being used in ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China.

These umbrellas or parasols were first designed to offer shade from the sun. The Chinese, doesn’t it figure, were the first to waterproof their umbrellas for use as rain protection.

Starting in the 16th century umbrellas became popular to the western world, especially in the rainy weather of northern Europe. At first it was considered only suitable for women. Then the Persian traveler and writer, Jonas Hanway, carried and used an umbrella publicly in England for about thirty years, popularizing umbrella use among men. English gentleman during this time referred to their umbrellas as a "Hanway."

Early European umbrellas were made of wood or whalebone and covered with alpaca or oiled canvas. Artisans made the curved handles for the umbrellas out of hard woods like ebony, and were well paid for their efforts.

In 1852, Samuel Fox invented the steel ribbed umbrella design. Fox claimed to have invented the steel ribbed umbrella as a way of using up stocks of farthingale stays, steel stays used in women's corsets.

And the rest, as they say, is history………….

………..You can celebrate Umbrella Day in a couple of ways. First, make sure your umbrella is handy. Second, use it, or walk around with it. If you don't have an umbrella, isn't it time to get one?