Historical Events for August 17

On this date in history, Indonesia became independent of The Netherlands. Indonesia National Emblem via wikipedia commons.

CAT NIGHTS BEGIN

Cat Nights begin on August 17. This term harks back to the days when people believed in witches. A rather obscure old Irish legend said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time (August 17), she couldn’t regain her human form. This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, “A cat has nine lives.” Because August is a yowly time for cats, this may have prompted the speculation about witches on the prowl in the first place. Also, nights continue to get longer. Cats, crepuscular creatures, are nocturnal hunters. Their superior night vision means that the nights belong to them.

Every Year

1780s

1800s

1830s

1850s

1870s

1880s

1890s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

COURTESY www.almanac.com

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.