The human race, according to that well-known sceptic, Dr Samuel Johnson, has a tendency to "represent as perpetual that which is only frequent, or as constant that which is really casual".
This unscientific trait, presumably, must be held accountable for the many traditional meteorological beliefs in Europe surrounding saints' days. Today, here in Germany, is a case in point: it is Siebenschlufertag, the feast-day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus - seven citizens of that ancient city who are traditionally seen as having a major role to play in determining the quality of the German August.
Back in the third century AD, the not-yet-holy Roman Empire had a man by the name of Decius in charge. This Emperor Decius, though an excellent man in many other ways, had little sympathy with new religions, and when in the year 250 he launched one of his periodic campaigns to stamp out Christianity, Ephesus did not escape: our seven heroes - Constantius, Dionysius, Joannes, Maximianus, Malchus, Martinianus and Serapion - all citizens of Ephesus, were obliged to flee, and took refuge in a cave on the slopes of Mount Celion.
Rather than root them out by force, their imperial pursuers walled up the entrance to the cave, whereupon the sealed septet fell into a deep and trance-like sleep.
"Things rested so," as Eamonn Kelly used to say, for 187 years. The saints awoke, however, in the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II, and their strange story came to light when one of them went down to Ephesus to buy provisions and tendered a coinage that was the best part of two centuries out of date.
Summoned before the emperor, the seven succeeded in persuading him that there was indeed life after death, and then, almost by way of demonstration, they retreated once again to their cave and resumed their trance. There, so the story goes, they remain until this very day, waiting for their next awakening on the Day of Judgment.
Now, none of these seven young men displayed, as far as we know, the slightest interest in the weather when awake. The whole story, indeed, has nothing at all to do with meteorology, except that in Germany the feast-day of the Seven Sleepers has the same significance as does St Swithin's Day in Britain; according to tradition, if it rains on Siebenschlufertag, it will rain on each of the following 40 days as well.
And, coincidence or not, the Belgians also have a rainy saint, St Godelieve, whose baleful influence is allegedly the same, and whose feast day also falls on today, July 27th.