Hot Dog!

Posted by Katrien Vander Straeten Aug 30, 2006

As the summer is slowly announcing its end with colder weather and showers here in Boston, I turn to the belief, in surprisingly many cultures, that the summer months are inauspicious times: unlucky times, times associated with, not just buying a lemon, but bad marriages, nasty dogs, death, ghosts, and open gates of hell...

That's worth checking out, I thought.

Research lead me to the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and medievals, who all associate the summer time with dogs and, worse, rabid dogs. Then on to the Chinese, for whom the month of the Hungry Ghosts or Spirits (usually around August)is the most inauspicious time of the year. And on to the Bengalis, who will think twice about buying a house or marrying in the month of Bhadra.

And on, perhaps? Let me know if you know of any other culture that distrusts the time around July, August and September.

This week I tackle the ancient Western suspicions of the Dog Days of Summer. On the internet you can read a lot of confusing and wrong explanations about that expression. Granted, behind it lies a complex story that involves Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, astrology, astronomy, mythology, and superstition. I've double-checked, puzzled and then laid it all out for you, so you'll never have to wonder about it again.