The Month of June
May 24, 2009History, holidays/events, personalities, birthstones and flowers: The month of June is the start of classes in the Philippines.
On the contrary, it’s the start of summer vacation in the western hemisphere.
June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It has 30 days. In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day of the year, which marks the beginning of summer, falls usually on June 21. In the Southern Hemisphere this day is the shortest and is the first day of winter.
In the old Roman calendar that began with March, June was the fourth month. It must have been named in honor of the goddess Juno, who was the protectress of marriage; it is traditionally the month of weddings. Or it may have been named for the Junius family, one of whose members supposedly founded the Roman Republic.
Events:
- June 4, 1942 - Battle of Midway began
- June 6, 1844 - YMCA organized in London
- June 6, 1944 - D-Day Allied Forces landed in Normandy
- June 12, 1898 - Declaration of Philippine Independence
- June 14, 1777 - Flag Day: US Continental Congress adapted the flag
- June 15, 1215 - King John of England signed Magna Charta
- June 15, 1775 - George Washington, appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
- June 17, 1775 - Battle of Bunker Hill
- June 18, 1812 - US Congress declared war on Great Britain
- June 18, 1815 - Allies defeated Napoleon at Waterloo
- June 20, 1837 - Victoria became queen of Great Britain
- June 25, 1950 - North Korea invaded South Korea - beginning of Korean War
- June 26, 1945 - United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations
- June 28, 1914 - Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife assassinated leading to World War I
Birthstones or Gemstones:
Moonstone, Pearl or Alexandrite
Flowers:
Roses & Honeysuckle
Personalities born this month:
- June 3, 1808 - Jefferson Davis. He was the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America and held office from February 18, 1861 to May 5, 1865.
- June 6, 1755 - Nathan Hale. An American hero and considered the first American spy. He is the State Hero of Connecticut. Famous for the lines - “I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country” in his speech before he was hung.
- June 8, 1869 - Frank Lloyd Wright. He was an American Architect, interior designer, writer, and educator who designed more than 1,000 projects, of which more than 500 resulted in completed works.
- June 12, 1924 - George Bush, 41st US President
June is coming
What’s new about June?
Month of June is coming…..
The Month of June
Juno was the Queen of the Gods. She gave her name to the month of June. She was the goddess of marriage, which partly explains why June weddings are so auspicious. The Greeks knew her as Hera.
June began with thirty days. Numa Pompilius reduced it to 29 in about 700 B.C. However, the Julian reform in 46 B.C. returned the lost day. It has held 30 days ever since. There is a rhyme commonly used to remember the number of days in each month. The first two lines of this poem are, “Thirty Days hath September, April, June, and November.”
June 14 is Flag day. It was originally proposed in 1877, the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the stars and stripes as the official flag of the United States. The flag is to be flown at all government buildings on this day. Even so, it was not until 1916 that Woodrow Wilson made it a national celebration, and it was left to Harry Truman in 1949 to sign a bill from Congress to make it official.
Father’s day is situated on the third Sunday in June. The idea for a day set aside for fathers originated in Spokane Washington, when a young lady, Sonora Smart Dodd, hearing a sermon on Mother’s Day in 1909, thought it was time that fathers also be recognized. The day was finally signed in as a national holiday in 1924 by Calvin Coolidge. It is traditional to unwittingly buy fathers gifts which they cannot possibly use. Roses are the official flower of the day. At one time red roses were worn to indicate a living father; white roses were worn to remember a father who had passed away.
The summer solstice is normally June 21st (sometimes the 20th). In the northern hemisphere this is the day with the most daylight. After this date the days begin to get “shorter”. Normally this day is not specifically celebrated in North America. However, other cultures do have celebrations. This is also the first day of summer.
June has the dubious distinction of loaning its name to a beetle, the June Bug. The scientific name for this insect is Phyllophaga crinita. It gets its name because it goes from a larval to adult state in June and emerges from the ground to mate. The June Bug is very much attracted to light and will swarm about a light on warm summer nights.
The birthstone for June is the pearl.
