The Dog Days of Summer
Where does that phrase come from?
Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. This fact just may make you exclaim, “Hot dog!”
The dog days of summer coincide with the heliacal rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky (aside from the sun).
A quick peek behind the Fun Fact Friyay curtain: I don’t always write these on a Friday. Planning ahead is wonderful.
Here I am on a non-Friday, typing this at about 8:30 in the morning. Thanks to a rainstorm, it currently looks like it’s about 8:30 at night.
Today also happens to be the day I brought my sweet chiweenie, Franxie, home from the Central Texas Dachshund Rescue. Here she is being a centerpiece:
As the picture clearly shows, Franxie is a dog. And as she was brought home in July, she’s an official dog of the dog days of summer.
But why are they called the dog days of summer? As is often the case with fun phrases, we have the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians to thank.
Back in the day, Greeks believed the extreme heat of the summer season was the result of Sirius’s dawn rising teaming up with the sun. It was probably much like how GameFreak introduced doubles battles in Generation III of Pokémon because teams of things are often more powerful than individuals.
Even better, you can actually have a sun Pokémon partner up with a star Pokémon.
Anyway, Sirius is part of the Canis Major constellation, which looks like a dog in the sky. Sirius makes up the snout, or snoot if you’re speaking directly to a dog while scratching its belly. The placement of Sirius is why it’s called the “Dog Star.”
Astronomy in ancient times wasn’t as advanced, so people often believed the sky and the heavens were the cause of things they couldn’t otherwise explain.
The Greeks thought the sweltering heat was Sirius’s fault, and they and the Romans also believed Sirius was the culprit for other events, such as droughts, bad luck, and RABID DOGS.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians used Sirius to forecast the annual flooding of the Nile, which helped the desert flourish with fertile soil.
We now know that Sirius doesn’t actually cause the madness ancient folks were convinced it did, yet the name lives on.
The dog days of summer are generally agreed upon as being from July 3 to August 11. What goofy holidays can you celebrate during the dog days?
July 3: Compliment Your Mirror Day
July 7: Build a Scarecrow Day
July 13: Barbershop Music Appreciation Day
July 19: Stick Out Your Tongue Day — that’s today (if you’re reading it when it came out), so feel free to indulge!
July 24: Tell an Old Joke Day
July 30: Paperback Book Day — May I recommend mine?
August 2: Find a Four-Leaf Clover Day
August 5: Work Like a Dog Day
August 8: Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day
With a lineup like that, I’m shocked people ever thought the dog days were a bad thing. What a bounty of weird celebrations.
As always, thank you for reading. Stay cool. 😎
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