Meteor shower is one of the most amazing natural phenomena that people have always been waiting for and loved.
Let’s go back in the history of mankind to find the whereabouts and better understand the legends of the ancient meteor showers.
Meteor showers actually appeared in the records of ancient people a long time ago. The Perseid s and Leonids are probably the two most common forms of meteor showers , especially the Perseids. According to historical records, the Perseids meteor showers were observed 2,000 years ago by the Greeks.
Image depicting “meteor storm” Leonids
The name Perseids actually comes from Perseus – a constellation in the sky named by the Greeks after the demigod Perseus – son of the powerful Zeus.
However, the Greeks had almost no concept of the spiritual symbolism of meteor showers. Even the wise man Aristotle was so rational that he used scientific reasoning to try to trace the origin of the meteor shower around 350 BC. Accordingly, meteors are actually like thunder, simply the result of interactions between wind and dry dust, creating streaks of fire in the sky.
It was only during the Roman period that mystical spiritual concepts were attributed to meteor showers. Accordingly, the Romans believed that each star in the sky was a candle lit by angels, symbolizing the life and soul of a human being.
The ancient Romans believed that each star in the sky was a candle lit by angels, symbolizing the life and soul of a person.
When a shooting star flies through the sky, it means that a person on Earth has passed away. In addition, there was also a time when the Romans believed that each passing shooting star was a miracle created by a sorcerer.
During the reign of the Roman emperor – Valerian, the image of meteor showers was attributed to many meanings by Catholics. Specifically, on August 10, 258, Saint Lawrence was tortured to death by the cruel king in Rome.
That night, a Perseids meteor shower occurred. Witnessing Catholics called it “Tears of St. Lawrence” .
Many people think that a meteor shower is a bad omen that signals disaster is happening
Most recently, in 1912, when the legendary Titanic began to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, many surviving witnesses also witnessed a huge meteor shower. The strange coincidences give rise to many theories: is the meteor shower a bad omen foretelling disasters that are about to happen?
Like some Western civilizations, the Eastern people also made certain observations of meteor showers very early. According to ancient records, the Chinese described Leonids meteor showers from around 868, 899 or 900.
The Arabs also mentioned a meteor shower in 902 as an omen of the death of King Ibrahim in Tunisia.
However, the spiritual meaning of the meteor shower of the East has many very specific features. Specifically, the Chinese believe that the meteor shower is the image of a dragon on earth or a messenger from heaven sent to the world.
Meanwhile, the ancient Siberians considered the sky to be a sewn dome, so when the gods passed by, their aura could pass through the narrow slits of the sky, becoming rain. meteor as we see it.
In addition, in Central Asian mythology, the meteor shower represents a fiery snake crawling in the sky. Sometimes the snake brings disaster, but other times it is a sign of treasure and wealth.
Even, there are many people who believe that, if you witness a meteor shower, just close your eyes and make a sincere wish, all your wishes can come true. However, so far, no scientist has proven or found the real whereabouts of this interesting concept. Even many experts believe that meteor showers and wishes have nothing to do with each other as people mistakenly believe.
However, for many people, watching the shooting stars twinkling in the sky also brings joy and excitement to them.
Upcoming events : Leonids meteor shower on 11/18