Siebenschlafer ... nein

I suppose the story this morning on Life Matters, the one that stated that today, June 27, is called 'Siebenschlafer', or 'Seven Sleeps' in German folklore, was a slip of the pen. The pity was, the whole item about Australian weather conditions was based around the assertion, which really should have been checked against an ecclesiastical calendar (or Wilson's Almanac).

The story probably refers to July 27, not June 27, which in the Christian tradition is called the Feast of the Seven Sleepers (not 'sleeps'). The sleepers are Saints Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine of Ephesus. I have an article on them in the Scriptorium.

July 27 is a rain prognostication day. "If it rains on Seven Sleepers Day, the rain will stay seven weeks more."