Dog days of Summer, Las Vegas Sun, June 21, 2000

Summer school: learn about the traditions and legends of summer Lisa Ferguson Wednesday, June 21, 2000 | 7:40 a.m. Where were you Tuesday at precisely 6:48 p.m.? Fighting the last of the rush-hour traffic? Scarfing down dinner? Perched in front of the television set, playing along with "Jeopardy"? Or maybe, just maybe, you took time out to celebrate the exact moment when spring gave way to summer. Whoops. Missed that somehow, huh? Don't be too ashamed: Summer solstice parties just aren't what they used to be. Sure, people still welcome the season with open arms, often by firing up the barbecue and gathering with friends and family for fun and feasting. But the people of ancient times really knew how to party. In eons past, the solstice, followed by the longest day of the year (June 21), was heralded with festivals, fire and tradition. "It does have some folklore going on with it," Debra Keller, senior associate editor of the Old Farmer's Almanac, says. In layman's terms, she explains the solstice as the time "when the sun makes it up as far north as it's going to come in its apparent motion. Actually, it's not going anywhere," but it's the Earth that's in motion, circling the sun. "A lot of people think (the sun is) closer to us then -- it's not. It's actually farther away but its angle is more direct on the northern hemisphere and that's what gives us the summer season, the more direct angle of the sun's rays." Stonehenge, the ancient monument in England (pictured above as part of a summer montage), was and continues to be a hot spot for summer solstice celebrations. While the sunrise can't be seen from Stonehenge's center during most parts on the year, it can be viewed clearly during the solstice. Keller says that in Salem, N.H., another ancient monument, called America's Stonehenge, is a popular spot for such solstice rituals. "There are rocks and there are calendrical things, obviously ancient Celtic-sort of ruins, druidic-type places." A stone identifies where the summer solstice and equinoxes are marked. "It's almost eerie a little bit, if you're the type who can pick up on those kind of vibes. It's pretty cool, though," she says. The solstice was and continues to be followed (in some places) by more celebration days later in honor of Midsummer Eve and Day, June 23 and 24. (The latter also marks the feast day of St. John the Baptist, who, it is said, baptized Christ.) Keller says that Midsummer Day was "more of a big deal than the solstice" in the Celtic tradition, marked by bonfires and fertility festivals. "It's called 'Midsummer' even though for us (in modern times), we think of the solstice as the first day of summer. But in more ancient traditions you plant your crops much earlier (in the year), so that Midsummer Day was actually halfway between the planting and the harvest," she explains. Bonfires were "a real tradition on Midsummer Eve and still are, I believe," Keller says. "The new Celtics are rekindling that sort of thing -- the bonfires and going into what are believed to be sacred spaces or mountains and having certain celebrations." Eventually the holiday, like many others, became associated with the saints, she says -- hence the John the Baptist connection, a day which was also celebrated with dancing, fire and food. Midsummer "harks back to pagan festivals. So when Christianity came in, they tried to pull the pagans into Christianity by sort of merging festivals and making sure that if there was a pagan festival ... it happened on a saint day," she says. According to the book "The Folklore of World Holidays" (Gale Research, 1998), modern druids continue to recreate Midsummer ceremony rituals at Stonehenge. Also, Midsummer fairs are prevalent in England, while bonfires continue to be lit in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Portugal. The holiday has not been forgotten in the United States. "The American Book of Days" (H.W. Wilson Company, 1991) says that bonfires figure prominently into Midsummer celebrations in Valdez, Alaska. Love and marriage Shakepeare weaved love and fancifulness through the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It's fitting, then, that romance also plays a big role in the summertime. (They don't call them "summer flings" for nothing.) It's no coincidence that June is a popular month for weddings: It's the result of an ancient tradition that stuck. The Roman goddess Juno "was the protector of women and all aspects of a woman's life," especially marriage and childbirth, Keller says. "So, if you got married in Juno's month, that was considered really getting off on the right foot, for the woman anyway." Bolstering the June wedding tradition is the Celtic festival of Beltane, which took place on May Day (the first day of May). According to Keller, on the eve of May Day, "young couples would pair off and would court for three months" and would marry on Lammas Day, a feast day that took place on Aug. 1, marking the beginning of the harvest. "Apparently the ancient, young couples were no more patient than modern couples, and they didn't want to wait until Aug. 1 so, as a compromise, they would wait until June and then got married. So you have a double tradition of June weddings." Lammas Day also has marital ties. Keller says that on that day ancient couples would be joined together in handfast marriages. "You could have your marriage for a year for a trial, and if it didn't work out, they parted, no strings attached, And if it did work out, they called the priest and made it official," she says. "So, I don't know, maybe we need to get back to that." In fact, Keller says, modern druids continue to follow aspects of the old Celtic festivals on Beltane, Midsummer Day and Lammas Day. "I'm not sure how much they realize (what) really went on in the ancient traditions because they have, I suspect, cleaned it up. There was an awful lot of sacrificing going on in those days. ... Either they're not aware of it or they're just not acknowledging it. I don't think they're doing it but that's certainly a strong part of the tradition that they might want to be more aware of." Seasonal sayings Something many people may not be aware of are the origins of some summer-related catch phrases. The "dog days of summer" always receives a mention in the Old Farmer's Almanac. " 'Dog days' has come to mean any hot, humid time, but traditionally it is the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11," Keller says, explaining that the time coincides with the heliacal rising of the dog star Sirius. But the tradition dates back to to the ancient Egyptians, when the star appeared just before the Nile River flooded for the season. "So it was a good sign for them because that's when it was certainly extremely hot, but it was a good thing because it irrigated the fields." It was a different story, however, for the Romans. "It was a time when it got extremely hot in Rome and because of it diseases were more rampant. So that's where we get the more negative connotation of the really oppressively hot, humid and not very pleasant" weather. There was also a tradition of dogs in the city becoming rabid at that time. Keller recalls a verse about it: "Dog days bright and clear / indicate a happy year / but when accompanied by rain / for better times our hopes are vain." "Dog days has a lot of tradition," she says. "I think people now just take any hot day and call it dog days, but it's quite a folk tradition behind it." Indian summer is another: Summertime on the calendar is long gone before this quasi-season when, especially in the northeastern U.S., temperatures are pleasantly warm and leaves change color. It officially occurs from Nov. 11-20. "Some people will call any warm spell 'Indian summer' and that's not really right," Keller says. "It needs to be after All Saint's Day," which is Nov. 1. According to legend, "if All Saints (day) brings out winter, St. Martin's (Day, Nov. 11) brings out Indian Summer." Ideally, the warm weather will follow a cold spell or a hard frost, Keller says. "There's usually a kind of hazy quality to Indian Summer." Some of the lore behind Indian summer comes from the early American-Indian belief that the warm wind was sent from the court of their southwestern god, Cautantowwit. Another theory, from the white settlers' point of view, was that the break in the cold weather allowed the American-Indians another opportunity "to go raiding ... (take) one last shot at the settlers," Keller says. "That's a little controversial." The "Boys of Summer" is a product of more modern history. It's most often associated with the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, which included such famous players as Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider in its lineup. The team won the World Series that year and earned the nostalgia-inducing nickname. The phrase also served as the title of a 1984 hit single by rocker Don Henley. The tune had little to do with baseball: "I can tell you my love for you will still be strong, after the boys of summer have gone." archive Share on print Share on email Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on google_plusone_share More Sharing Services 0