Where Does the Saying Indian Summer Come From ?
Where Does the Saying Indian Summer originate from ?
No doubt you’ll be staggered at my ignorance cherished reader but don’t be - my ignorance staggers me on a daily basis !
This morning I had no idea of the phrase’s origins but now not only after enjoying an Indian Summer I also have learnt something of how the term came about.
A great day and I learnt sumfink as well !
A hurried start to the morning, brought about by long-awaited paperwork about an investment and the good news that they can now 
confirm I was indeed born when I say I was rather than when they say I was, and a glorious sunny Autumnal day meant I had to go a roving.
Indian Summer it was today and there are a few possibilities for the phrase which has been in use for a couple of centuries. The one I fancy the most goes back to military times in India when winter and monsoon rains meant the English had to stop fighting the local inhabitants who rather selfishly felt their country belonged to them. The advent of a break in the expected weather gave rise to the possibility of further bonus military action - hence the saying !
I myself was on a campaign but of a somewhat different kind - you’ll never guess where I’ve been out and about ?
Lincolnshire - bet you didn’t guess !
Biscathorpe, Gayton le Wold, Utterby, South Elkington, Welton le Wold et al. You’ll notice to the left the well turned Goldeneye Ankle, safely ensconced in the new boot, and it is parked firmly on hallowed ground.
I’m pleased to report that I didn’t turn to ashes and wasn’t struck by lightning so things may just might bode well for an afterlife !
Being in the narrow country lanes, walking through woods and trekking around the Lincolnshire Wolds is a delight at the worst of times but with weather like this and at this time of year it’s just superb. The trees and foliage are a myriad of colours - red, gold and green all glistening in the sunlight - leaves gently flutter down and conkers carpet the ground around the horse-chestnut trees.
I sat on a bench in a deserted churchyard high on a hill in the Wolds and devoured a feast of disgracefully calorie laden food and once again counted my blessings - you can’t go wrong doing this !
I saw some great things again though two churches I visited were now private residences so I was unable to look round and record them.
I found no skulls on gravestones nor any Masonic tomb stones either - bolstering my initial suspicions that they are rare here in Lincs.
I don’t know how many other opportunities like this I’ll get in the coming months but I’ll take them when I can and be all the more grateful for them.
Thankfully Yours
Rod
Annie Flinn said,
October 28, 2009 @ 11:06 pm
Hi Rod,
Another adventure well-made. Thanks for the note, too, about Indian Summer. I always associated it with the American Indian, but for no particular reason. Live and learn, huh?
Annie
Annie Flinn said,
October 28, 2009 @ 11:10 pm
According to entries on Wikipedia:
The expression ‘Indian summer’ has been used for more than two centuries. The earliest known use was by French American writer St. John de Crevecoeur in rural New York in 1778. There are several theories as to its etymology:
In The Americans, The Colonial Experience, Daniel J. Boorstin speculates that the term originated from raids on European colonies by Indian war parties; these raids usually ended in autumn, hence the extension to summer-like weather in the fall as an Indian summer.
It may be so named because this was the traditional period during which early North American First Nations/Native Americans harvested their crops of squash and corn.
Rod said,
October 29, 2009 @ 8:43 am
Hi Annie,
the phrase is first recorded in American literature I believe. It too found conflicting ideas so just went for my favourite - I’ll play arbiter
Cheers
Rod
Annie Flinn said,
October 30, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Hi Rod,
Because of the European colonization of the Americas, there are a great deal of shared idiosyncratic expressions and phrases, and holiday traditions. The saga of Indian summer is but one of many we share.
Annie