Seven Sleepers' Day
June 27, Thursday
Seven Sleepers' Day on June 27 is a feast day commemorating the legend of the Seven Sleepers as well as one of the best-known bits of traditional weather lore (expressed as a proverb) remaining in German-speaking Europe. The atmospheric conditions on that day are supposed to determine or predict the average summer weather of the next seven weeks.
The legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus was first presented by Jacob of Serugh around 500 AD and later popularized by Gregory of Tours. Its Western version was part of the widely distributed Golden Legend hagiography collection compiled by Jacobus de Varagine about 1260. The cult became common during the Crusades of the High and Late Middle Ages, and June 27 was declared a commemoration day in most of the Catholic dioceses. Contrary to popular belief, the name of the day does not refer to the edible dormouse (Glis glis), a rodent known as Siebenschläfer in German for its seven-month hibernation.