Canículas (dog-days) are the days (early July to early September) when Sirius (the Dog Star, because it's the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog) rises and sets the same time as the sun (coincidentally the hot part of the year). When I first heard the word here (from a Mexican speaking Spanish), I thought it was the Russian word кани́кулы (kaníkuly), which has the same Latin origin, but now means 'vacation, holiday' from work, school, etc.
Canículas (dog-days) are the days (early July to early September) when Sirius (the Dog Star, because it's the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog) rises and sets the same time as the sun (coincidentally the hot part of the year). When I first heard the word here (from a Mexican speaking Spanish), I thought it was the Russian word кани́кулы (kaníkuly), which has the same Latin origin, but now means 'vacation, holiday' from work, school, etc.