I always thought the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ referred to the tail end (get it) of summer.
It’s not that.
It isn’t even the end of summer.
The source of the name is…astronomical.
The term ‘Dog Days’ refers not to the heat, but to a star in the night sky.
Sirius, the brightest star in the sky that, in the Northern hemisphere, sets and rises over the horizon.
Once a year, Sirius rises at the same time as the sun, usually around mid-July.
While in the sky, Sirius ‘follows’ Orion around the sky.
The ancient Greeks referred to Sirius as Orion’s…dog.
And when Sirius rises at the same time as the sun, we have entered the Dog Days.
The ‘Dog Days of Summer’ are said to begin when Sirius rises at the same time as the sun (July 3-ish this 2022) and last for about a month to 40 days.
So then, what are the Hot Dog Days of Summer?
The Hot Dog Days of Summer are the time in between the Dog Days of Summer and the End of Summer.
Summer is still going on, but it is starting to come to a close.
When does summer ‘officially’ end?
Ignore dates.
Anyone who has ever been to school knows summer ends when school begins.
Still in school? Summer ends when school begins.
Work at a school? Summer ends when school begins.
Have kids? Summer ends when school begins.
An adult without kids? You can walk around pretending mid-September is still summer, but you would be delusional.
Since the dog days of summer this year went until August 11, that only gives a couple of weeks for the Hot Dog Days of Summer.
Only a couple of weeks to close out as much as you can from your Summer Bucket List.
But this is the time of the year to eat Hot Dogs.
It has been over a month since the horror show that is watching THE hot dog eating contest. So the disgust at the amount of dogs eaten should have passed by now.
It’s still warm but still summer.
Baseball is still in season (seen the Yard Goats yet? Schedule here).
It’s the time of hot dogs.
So we will be dedicating the next couple of weeks to hunting down the best hot dogs in Connecticut.
Join us.