• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

West Haven Voice

West Haven’s only independent news source - By and For West Haven

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Archive
  • Advertise With Us!
  • Classified
  • Announcements
  • Contact Us
  • Web Exclusive
    • Kids Activity Pages

Historian’s corner

August 22, 2018 By whvoice

Hazy skies bring beautiful sunrises during the “Dog Days” of summer

The Dog Days of Summer

As Nature follows her annual rhythms, we reach that part of the year when the cicadas buzz, the katydids (or August bugs) pass the sultry evenings endlessly singing, “skritch-skritch-skritch—skritch skritch,”  and lawns turn brown, as the earth beneath them turns to stone.  At sunrise, the haze of humidity hangs like a warm, damp blanket over the land and over the waters of the harbor.

For this is August, and these are the Dog Days of summer—but where did August come from, and why are they called “dog days” anyway?  Well, it’s like this…

Romulus, the founder of ancient Rome is credited with the popularization of the lunar calendar; this borrowed some of its elements from the Greek calendar.  That first Roman calendar had ten months, and a year then was 304 days; quickly, the calendar fell out of sync with the cycles of nature.  Farmers noticed that springtime came earlier and earlier every year.  Eventually, and for practical reasons, it became necessary to add two months and lengthen the calendar year to something that more closely resembles the calendar of today.  Along the way, the months of July and August were renamed for the Roman emperors, Julius and Augustus Caesar, who overhauled the Julian Calendar into its present form.

As for the Dog Days, this term was coined by the ancient Romans.  They didn’t have televisions to watch at night, so many of them would sit outside and look up to the heavens, study the stars, and invent stories about the imaginary shapes that different groups of those stars made; these stories became their legends.  The Europeans saw in those groups of stars different images than the Chinese did, and the Chinese saw different images than the American Indians did, and the Egyptians saw yet other images; but all of these groups indulged in this same pastime of stargazing.

Anyway, around Aug. 1, the Constellation Orion begins to rise about an hour before the sun does.  According to Roman legend, Orion was a mighty hunter, who was followed by his two dogs:  Canis Major and Canis Minor—or “big dog and little dog.”  Within the constellation Canis Major is one star—Sirius—the Dog Star, which is absolutely the brightest star in the sky.  The annual appearance of the Dog Star coincides with the hottest days of our summer, hence the term Dog Days.  As a matter of fact, the ancient Romans believed that since Sirius was so bright, and the August weather became so hot when Sirius was visible, that the earth must be receiving extra heat from that star!

So let us enjoy these last hot days, before Labor Day heralds the unofficial end of summer, vacations, backyard picnics, and trips to the beach; for the coming of autumn and cooler weather is but a month away.

Filed Under: 082318, Historian's Corner

Primary Sidebar

Seach our site

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Historian's Corner ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Historian’s Corner

westhavenvoice.com

Historian’s Corner June 4, 2025 By whvoice 1 Comment By Dan Shine Voice Columnist West Haven Veterans Museum Part II See part 1 The West Haven Veterans Museum and Learning Center offers exhibits on ...
1 week ago
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 0
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Letters ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Letters

westhavenvoice.com

Letters June 4, 2025 By whvoice Leave a Comment Peace Officer Memorial proposed Thursday, May 15, marked National Peace Officers Memorial Day. It is a day that we honor and remember law enforcement of...
2 weeks ago
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 0
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Editorial ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Editorial

westhavenvoice.com

Editorial June 4, 2025 By whvoice Leave a Comment Have we learned a lesson? The recent decision by the Municipal Accountability Review Board (MARB) has been hailed by city officials as a banner day fo...
2 weeks ago
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 0
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Dear Felicia ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Dear Felicia

westhavenvoice.com

Dear Felicia June 4, 2025 By whvoice Leave a Comment By the time yew git this missive, m’dear, it’s the beginning of June! It seems hard to believe in many ways. It seems Cobina was shoveling the ...
2 weeks ago
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 0
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Load more

 

 

West Haven’s Calendar

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
West Haven Calendar
2 years ago
West Haven Calendar

Thursday Night Live (This one's on Friday!!!)

... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Thursday Night Live (This one's on Friday!!!)

tockify.com

Fri 23 Jun, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM [EDT]: Event by Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce, CT Old Grove Park Public · Anyone on or off Facebook West Haven summer concerts are back! Join us in West Haven thi...
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 1
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

1 CommentsComment on Facebook

West Haven Calendar
2 years ago
West Haven Calendar

Mark Your West Haven Calendar

tockify.com/west.haven.calendar/detail/442/1686776400000

Business After Hours West Haven Veterans Museum
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Business After Hours West Haven Veterans Museum

tockify.com

Wed 14 Jun, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM [EDT]: Business After Hours West Haven Veterans Museum West Haven Veterans Museum & Learning Center Event by Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce, CT West Haven Veterans ...
View Comments
  • likes Like 0
  • Comments: 0
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

West Haven Calendar
2 years ago
West Haven Calendar

Added for June 10th & 11th

tockify.com/west.haven.calendar/detail/443/1686405600000

West Haven Historical Society Open House
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

West Haven Historical Society Open House

tockify.com

Sat 10 Jun, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM [EDT]:
View Comments
  • likes Like 2
  • Comments: 1
  • Shares: 0
Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

1 CommentsComment on Facebook

Load more

Footer

Address

West Haven Voice
840 Boston Post Road
West Haven, CT

 

Contact us

Call (203) 934-6397

Contact form

SITE NAVIGATION

HOME
ABOUT US
ARCHIVE
ADVERTISE!
CLASSIFIED
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONTACT US
WEB EXCLUSIVE

FIND US IN PRINT

Our print edition is available each Thursday. Here is a list of locations!

Letters Policy

Information on submitting letters to us.

Our submission deadlines.

Copyright © 2025 West Haven Voice, LLC