June is the sixth month of the year in the

Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

and

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...

s and is the second of four months to have a length of 30

day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two s ...

s, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

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 December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was orig ...

in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern Hemisphere, the beginning of the traditional astronomical

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, ...

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 Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotational axis of a rotating body. In an appropriate reference frame it can be defined as a change in the first Euler angle, whereas the third Euler angle defines the rotation itself. In o ...

of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

sign of Gemini, and ends with the sun in the

astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

Etymology and history

Flaming_June,_by_Frederic_Lord_Leighton_(1830-1896)

The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

name for June is '' Junius''.

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

offers multiple etymologies for the name in the ''

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for si ...

'', a poem about the

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the Roman dictator, dictator Julius Caesar and Roman emperor, emperor Augustus in the ...

. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess

Juno Juno commonly refers to: * Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

; 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 ''Maius'' or ''mensis Maius'' ( May) was the third month of the ancient Roman calendar, following '' Aprilis'' ( April) and preceding '' Iunius'' (June). On the oldest Roman calendar that had begun with March, it was the third of ten months in the ...

)'' may be named. Another source claims June is named after

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus af ...

, founder of the Roman Republic and ancestor of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

gens Junia. In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June was considered inauspicious for marriage. Ovid says that he consulted the

Flaminica Dialis In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 ''flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thr ...

, the high priestess of Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughter's wedding, and was advised to wait till after June 15.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ...

, however, implies that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May. Certain

meteor showers A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at ex ...

take place in June. The

Arietids The Arietids are a strong meteor shower that lasts from May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Arietids, along with the Zeta Perseids, are the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year. The source of the shower is unknown, bu ...

takes place May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The

Beta Taurids The Beta Taurids (β–Taurids) are an annual meteor shower belonging to a class of "daytime showers" that peak after sunrise. The Beta Taurids are best observed by radar and radio-echo techniques. The Beta Taurids are normally active from June ...

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 The Ludi Piscatorii was a Roman holiday celebrated on 7 June in the 3rd century BC in honor of Father Tiber. The holiday was celebrated by the fishermen of Rome; the celebration was directed by the Praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the titl ...

took place on June 7, and Vestalia took place from June 7 – June 15. A Rosalia was held on June 20. The

Secular Games The Saecular Games ( la, Ludi saeculares, originally ) was a Roman religious celebration involving sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in ancient Rome for three days and nights to mark the end of a and the beginning of the next. A , su ...

were held roughly every 100 years in either May or June. These dates do not correspond to the modern

Observances

Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry juin

Band Trooping the Colour, 16th June 2007

Month-long observances

African-American Music Appreciation Month ''Black Music Appreciation Month'' is an annual celebration of African-American music in the United States. It was initiated as Black Music Month by President Jimmy Carter who, on June 7, 1979, decreed that June would be the month of Black mus ...

(officially recognized by the United States) * ALS Awareness Month (Canada) * Caribbean American Heritage Month (United States) *

Crop over Crop Over is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery. History The original crop-over tradition began in 1687 as a way to mark the end of the yearly harve ...

(Barbados), celebrated until the first Monday in August. * Great Outdoors Month (United States) * LGBTQ+ Awareness and Pride month * Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Catholic tradition) * National Oceans Month (United States) * National Smile Month (United Kingdom) * PTSD Awareness Month (United States) * Season of Emancipation (April 14 to August 23) (Barbados)

Non-Gregorian observances, 2019

''(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)'' *

List of observances set by the Bahá'í calendar A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...

List of observances set by the Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese holidays are an essential pa