Siebenschläfertag
Siebenschläfertag
Today is an important day in Germany if you want to know what the summer is going to be like. At least according to folklore and agricultural tradition [Bauernregeln], which holds that the weather on June 27th - Siebenschläfertag - will determine the general meteorological trend for July and August, the next 7 weeks. There are several rhymes of weather lore to go along with Siebenschläfertag, such as:
* Das Wetter am Siebenschläfertag sieben Wochen bleiben mag
* Wie's Wetter am Siebenschläfertag, so der Juli werden mag
* Wenn die Siebenschläfer Regen kochen, dann regnet’s ganze sieben Wochen
The rhyme doesn't owe its name - as commonly thought - to the Siebenschläfer, a kind of dormouse, which is a small rodent, but to an ancient legend: the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus", a Christian legend dating from around the 6th century. Statistically the weather on Siebenschläfertag has a 60-70% likelihood of being predictive in southern Germany, but very rarely holds true for northern Germany.
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i just spoke with my mother and it's raining and thunderstorming where they live. she is not pleased, hah. i know that in the uk they have st. swithin's day with the same idea but it's on july 15 and 'predicts' the weather for the next 40 days. the americans have groundhog day, which, according to this isn't the same as siebenschläfer either: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/german_interest/116670
how about in your country? do you have anything like this?