5 Beautiful Things
Umbrellas
For my 30th birthday, my friend Louise gave me a very special gift: a clear, plastic umbrella. It was special because she had remembered that I had one as a child and that one of my favorite things to do was to stand under it in the rain, looking straight up at the sky to watch the raindrops smash into it and turn into little rivulets that would scatter all over its surface. My adult version is much larger and doesn’t have little drawings of raindrops around the fringe, but I still look forward to rainy days simply because I know I’ll get to use my umbrella.
The word umbrella is derived from the Greek word umbra, which means shade or shadow. Early examples of umbrellas or parasols can be traced back to the 11th Century, B.C., in China where they were seen as a sign of wealth, used mostly to shield aristocrats from the sun. There is also evidence that umbrellas were used in the same period in India. In ancient Egypt, too, the parasol was an indication of wealth.
So, in honor of April showers, I’ve gathered some lovely images of umbrellas in use. From above, they must look like a river of floating multi-colored flowers flowing down sidewalks. Umbrellas are useful, stylish, inventive and practical. They are, in a word, beautiful.
To read more about the history of umbrellas, click here
Photos:
1. Aterriblehumanbeing.tumblr.com
2. Sarahing.tumblr.com
3. onemustcreate.tumblr.com
4. pretty.stuff.tumblr.com
5. travel.nationalgeographic.com
Andrew Ritchie is the creator of Martha Moments, a blog devoted Martha-Stewart related content and her community of supporters. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada, and has been a longtime friend of Brent & Josh, Beekman 1802 and Sharon Springs. Each week he’ll scour the world (wide web) to find the 5 most beautiful things to inspire you. Follow Andrew on Pinterest.
