Dog Days

I've always loved knowing the origins of sayings and phrases....

The phrase "Dog Days" conjures up the hottest, most sultry days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11. These canicular days get their name from the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. At this time of the year Sirius disappears into the Sun's glow. Both heavenly bodies are in conjunction, rising and setting at around the same time. Ancient stargazers thought that the heat from Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens, combined with the heat of the Sun produced the hottest weather of the year! Even though Sirius is hotter than our Sun it is much too far away to warm our planet. Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile's flooding, so the ancient Egyptians used the star as a "watchdog" for that event. They saw Sirius as a giver of life for it always reappeared at the time of the annual flooding of the Nile. When the star sank in the west and disappeared from the night sky, it remained hidden for 70 days before emerging in the east in the morning. This was viewed as a time of death and rebirth. The Egyptians copied this period in their funeral ceremonies. When a king died, his body was mummified, then interred in a pyramid or other tomb. By custom, burial took place 70 days after death, when the king was "reborn" in the stars.

"Dog Days bright and clear, indicate a happy year, but when accompanied by rain, for better times our hopes are vain."