This reminds me, oddly, of a Welsh-langue class I took in college. We ran across the idiomatic phrase for "It's raining," which is (if I remember correctly) "Mae hi'n bwrw glaw." That translates to "She is casting water." Another student asked why that was the idiom, and I said, "Probably just what it sounds like. They probably believed a goddess was throwing water at the Earth when it rained." The teacher responded with "Dydw i ddim yn credu." "What?" "Dwi ddim yn credu." "What do you mean you don't believe me?" The teacher was entirely serious. Occam's Razor being what it is, and the ancient Welsh being pantheists, I still wonder if he simply thought that was too far-fetched or if he entirely rejected the idea of the Welsh not always having been Christians, because that offended his modern-day Mormon sensibilities. What. Ever. :\
In other news, people are now replying to other people's comments on some of the posts where I'm behind in responding to comments! And I'm getting a cold. Give me strength!