Dog Days of Summer

I am not sure there is a place in North America, that is not
experiencing the Dog Days of Summer. Today we are going to 
learn the history about where the name,
Dog Days, originated. 
No, there will not be a test! 

@ourlittlechurchcottage on Instagram

                              From July the 3rd to August the 11th are the days known as the 

Dog Days of Summer. (I personally think the hot and 

humid weather last a lot longer than August the 11th.)

@homeforWillow on Instagram

                        In ancient Greece and Rome, the Dog Days were believed to be 

a time of drought, bad luck, and unrest, when dogs 

and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat.
Today, the phrase doesn’t conjure up such bad imagery. 
Instead, the Dog Days are associated purely with the time of 
summer’s peak temperatures and humidity.

@thedogdaysofiy on Instagram

This period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal  
(meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of

 the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—

which is where Sirius gets its canine nickname, 

as well as its official name, Alpha Canis Majoris. 

Not including our own Sun, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky.

by Charlotte Savafi

In ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome, it was believed that the dawn rising of Sirius 

in mid- to late summer contributed to the extreme weather of the season. 

In other words, the “combined heat” of super-bright Sirius and our Sun 

was thought to be the cause of summer’s sweltering temperatures. 

The name “Sirius” even stems from Ancient Greek 

seírios, meaning “scorching.” 

by Dan Piassick

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, if you don’t count our own Sun. 

Under the right conditions, it can even be seen with the naked eye during the day. 

Sirius is one star in a group of stars that form the constellation Canis Major, 

meaning “Greater Dog.” It’s no surprise, then, that the nickname 

of this big, bold star became “the Dog Star.”

by Gordon Beall

      In ancient Egypt, the Nile River flooded each year, usually beginning in late June. 

The people welcomed this event, called the Inundation, because the floodwaters 

brought rich soil needed to grow crops in what was otherwise a desert. 

by Jim Bathie

No one in Egypt knew exactly when the flooding would start, 

but they noticed a coincidence that gave them a clue: The water began to rise 

on the days when Sirius (known to them as “Sothis”) began to rise before the Sun. 

Sothis and the Inundation became so important to the Egyptians’ survival 

that they began their new year with the new Moon that followed the star’s 

first appearance on the eastern horizon.

by Stacey Bewkes

Unlike the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and Romans were not as pleased 

by Sirius’s appearance. For them, Sirius signaled a time when evil was brought to 

their lands with drought, disease, and discomfort.

by Stacey Bewkes

by Stacey BewkesSirius was described as a “bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals,
rises and saddens the sky with sinister light” by the Roman poet Virgil.

by Helen Norman

Is this just superstition? A 2009 Finnish study tested the traditional claim 
that the rate of infections is higher during the Dog Days. 
The authors wrote, “This study was conducted in order to challenge the myth 
that the rate of infections is higher during the dog days. To our surprise, 
the myth was found to be true.”

by Molly Maine

Dog Days bright and clear
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times, our hopes are vain.

decoratordiva1 on Instagram

Dog Days are approaching; you must, therefore, make both hay and haste 
while the Sun shines, for when old Sirius takes command of the weather, 
he is such an unsteady, crazy dog, there is no dependence upon him.

–From The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1817

All I know for sure is that the Dog Days of Summer are 

HOT!

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***Blogger is in a mood today! It can't seem to line up properly 
and refuses to make the last paragraph the correct size. 
Maybe the Dog Days have made it crazy!