Show how it started by JEAN NEWTON TO MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES TO ekrebs foresight taking ad vantage of the opportunity when it appears one of the most commonly used sayings in our language Is mab ing hay while the sun shines in the use of the phrase today hay Is for money or place or love or health or aej other matter in which it Is desirable to improve the shining hours but in its origin making hay while the sun shines had a literal application it goes back to the time of henry vin in angland when it became the substance of a legal statute I 1 at the time great damage resulted from the practice of careless farmers who left bay in the fields indefinitely after it was cut and frequently saw it ruined in brainstorms rainstorms rain storms before they had it under shelter to guard against such waste the law was passed requiring farmers to take in their bay as soon as it was ready it was from this statute that the expression making hay while the ann shines gained popularity in common speech copyright |