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 | | Subject: What are the Dog Days of Summer? Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:15 pm | |
| This isn't a calendar its just mainly for your own information.
The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the Dog Days
as the 40 days beginning July 3 and Ending August 11,
Coinciding with the ancient heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star Sirius
The Book of Common Prayer (1552)
Lists the Dog Daies
begin on July 6th and end on Augst 17
The term Dog Days was coined by the Ancient Romans,
who called these days caniculares dies (days of the dogs) after Sirius (the Dog Star), the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun
Popularly believed to be an evil time, when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies, Brady's Clavis Calendarium, 1813
The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, rose just before or at the same time as sunrise, which is no longer true owing to precession of the equinoxes
Just a few more neat things about the Dog Days of Summer
For the Ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile's flooding, so they used the star as a watchdog for that event.
Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time Dog Days bright and clear/ indicate a happy year/ But when accompanied by rain,/ for better times our hopes are vain
In recent years, the phrase Dog Days or Dog Days of Summer, have also found new meanings.
The term has frequently been used in reference to the American Stock Markets.
Typically, summer is a very slow time for the stock market, and additionally, poorly performing stocks with little future potential are frequently known as dogs.
A Casual survey will usually find that many people believe the phrase is in reference to the conspicuous laziness of domesticated dogs (who are in danger of overheating with too much exercise) during the hottest days of summer
When speaking of Dog Days there seems to be a connotation of lying or dogging around or being dog tired on these hot and humid days.
Although these meanings have nothing to do with the original source of the phrase they may have been attached to the phrase in recent years due to common usage or misunderstanding of the origin of the phrase
The Feast Day of Saint Roch,
the Patron Saint of Dogs is August 16 | |
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