Origin of phrases and thinking from fundamentals

I live in Punjab. Generally speaking, we like the rain. It cools the hot weather, waters our fields - agriculture is a big part of income, and the produce feeds almost all of India.

So I couldn't figure out the idiom "Saving for a rainy day." It just seemed so wrong and remained that way for many years. I just couldn't get myself to use the idiom.

The mystery of the idiom finally got resolved when I went to Belfast, UK for Masters in Business studies. 

People just hated the rain there. Even when it was only drizzling, they would complain about bad weather. 

I was in a prayer meeting once, and it went something like this: "Oh god, thank you for the great food, family, and the gathering. Thank you for the jobs we have and the chance to be together as a supportive group... " followed by, "Even though the weather is bad and it was raining all day, we are still very  thankful for everything." I was shocked as she complained about rain three times in a two-minute prayer.

It finally dawned on me that the phrase came from the English people itself - who don't have enough sun and more than their fair share of rain. 

But it's usage in a desert area where water is scarce, temperatures go higher than 50-degree celsius, and people die of heat strokes, the idea of saving for a rainy day is very odd.

In European songs, they are generally looking for and comparing good things to sunshine. In Indian songs, we are generally asking for rain, and comparing rain and shade to good things. 

All of this to say that context matters. 

Artists seem to get it. I hope people who teach language at some point get it too.