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Making the Most of the Dog Days of Summer;
Making the Most of the Dog Days of Summer;
Classes Starts at Most Area School Aug.21
by Sandra Olmsted
Technically speaking, the Northern Hemisphere, astronomical event of Dog Days refers to the 20 days before and after the heliacal — aka dawn — rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation. The phenomenon begins July 3 and ends August 11 with the alignment of the Dog Star, Sirius, with the sun. Consequently, when Sirius appears in the sky just before the sun, near the end of July, usually July 24, the hottest days of the year are half over. However, in St. Louis, it’s not the heat so much as the humidity that keeps people seeking cool spots.
The Romans and Greeks associated Sirius’ presence in the sky with lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck or heat, drought, and sudden thunderstorms. Conversely, Egyptians believed that Sirius, which coincided with the flooding of the Nile, made them prosperous by providing fertile soil and life-giving water for this ancient desert kingdom’s farms and abundant crops.
Although Dog Days denotes a long slog through the hottest days of summer, some refer to the coldest, dreariest days of winter, usually Mid-January to the end of February. The Dog Days of Winter have no astronomical phenomenon associated with their length except local groundhogs spotting their shadows on a meteorologically sunny February 2nd and prophesying six more weeks of winter. Dog Days also indicate a period of stagnation, and include diverse usages such as “This win might signal the end of the team’s Dog Days.”
A literary reference to the Dog Days of Summer, in the Aeneid, by the Roman poet Virgil, echoes the ancient superstitions about Canis Major: “Fiery Sirius, bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light.” Consequently, many parents forbade their children to swim in rivers, lakes, and streams during the Dog Days of Summer. Avoiding a cool dip in these waters for fear of illness and/or parents’ wrath must have been exceedingly unpleasant.
In 2009, after most had forgotten the rule about not swimming, some Finnish researchers decided to test the superstition. To their surprise, the rate of infections was higher during the Dog Days. Thankfully, chlorine allows postmodern humans to enjoy swimming through Summer’s Dog Days, and the advent of air conditioning easily allows them cool respite from the worse that Canis Major can inflict.
Historically, movie theaters’ air conditioning offers entertainment and escape from the heat. Now, gyms let people sweat in controlled environments, and shopping offers cool environments while hunting for clothing, decor, furniture,.etc. However, morning gardening and afternoons reorganizing indoors to avoid the heat occupy some people during Dog Days.
Escape to the Movies
Pink it up and go see “Barbie”! It’s fun and meaningful! The film speaks to the Barbie in all of us! Also, Oppenheimer is a great escape! Although Oppenheimer is 3 hours, the stellar cast, acting, writing, directing, editing, and production design’s costumes, makeup, etc. make the time fly!!! I predict 10 Oscar Noms!!
The biggest heart-stopping action movie this summer is, hands down, “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning” although the latest installment of another throwback has its own heart-stoppers. The merits of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” include lots of nostalgic send-ups of the earlier films, especially the original.
For tweens, the animated “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” offer fun for the tween crowd; however, “Ruby” has a lot more to appeal to a broader audience because “Spiderman” has an extreme fan vibe that some may not enjoy or get.
