June

This article is about the month. For other uses, see June (disambiguation).
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June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the second month to have the length of 30 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours (excluding polar regions in both cases). June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the traditional astronomical summer is 21 June (meteorological summer begins on 1 June). In the Southern hemisphere, meteorological winter begins on 1 June.

At the start of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Taurus; at the end of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Gemini. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the astrological sign of Gemini, and ends with the sun in the astrological sign of Cancer.

Etymology and History

The Latin name for June is Junius. Ovid offers multiple etymologies for the name in the Fasti, a poem about the Roman calendar. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity Jupiter; the second is that the name comes from the Latin word iuniores, meaning "younger ones", as opposed to maiores ("elders") for which the preceding month May (Maius) may be named.[1]

In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June was considered inauspicious for marriage. Ovid says that he consulted the Flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughter's wedding, and was advised to wait till after June 15.[2] Plutarch, however, implies that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May.[3]

Certain meteor showers take place in June. The Arietids takes place May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Beta Taurids June 5 to July 18. The June Bootids take place roughly between 26 June and 2 July each year.

Ancient Roman observances

Under the calendar of ancient Rome, the festival of Ludi Fabarici took place on May 29 - June 1, Kalendae Fabariae took place on June 1, the Festival to Bellona took place on June 3, Ludi Piscatorii took place on June 7, and Vestalia took place from June 7-June 15. The Secular Games were held roughly every 100 years in either May or June. These dates does not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.

Events in June

June, from the Très riches heures du duc de Berry
Trooping the Colour is celebrated in June in London

Month-long observances

Movable observances, 2016

Movable Western Christian observances, 2016

Movable Eastern Christian observances, 2016

First Friday (June 3)

First Saturday (June 4)

First Sunday (June 5)

One Week Before June 12 (June 5–11)

First Monday (June 6)

Second Thursday (June 9)

A Saturday (June 11)

Second Saturday (June 11)

Second Sunday (June 12)

Third Week (June 12–18)

Monday before Father's Day in the United States (June 13)

Monday after the second Saturday (June 13)

Second Monday (June 13)

A Saturday (June 15)

Third Friday (June 17)

Saturday nearest Summer Solstice (June 18)

Third Sunday (June 19)

Solstice (June 20)

Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere

Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere

Friday between June 19–25 (June 24)

Friday Following Father's Day (June 24)

Saturday between June 20–25 (June 25)

Last Saturday (June 25)

Last Sunday (June 26)

Monday Nearest to June 24 (June 27)

Last Thursday (June 30)

Observances on non-Gregorian calendars, 2016

Fixed Gregorian observances

June symbols

References

  1. Ovid, Fasti VI.1–88; H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 126.
  2. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies, p. 126.
  3. Karen K. Hersch, The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 47.
  4. http://www.nwf.org/Great-American-Campout/About.aspx
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