In places north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle, the June solstice is when the midnight sun occurs, during which the Sun remains visible even at midnight. The Atlantic hurricane season—when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the north Atlantic Ocean—begins on 1 June and lasts until 30 November. The East Asian rainy season is also generally considered to commence during this month. Multiple meteor showers occur annually in June, including the Arietids, which are among the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year; they last between 22 May and 2 July, peaking in intensity on 8 June.
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world.[1][2] Containing 30 days, June succeeds May and precedes July. It is one of four months to contain 30 days, alongside April, September and November; herein June lies between April, the fourth month of the year, and September—the ninth month of the year.[1] June is in the second quarter (Q2) of a calendar year, alongside April and May.[3] This month is abbreviated as Jun, and may be spelled with or without a concluding period (full stop).[4]
Etymologically, June is ultimately derived from the Latin month of Iunius, named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno (Latin: Iūnō). The present English spelling was influenced by the Anglo-Normanjoin, junye and junie. It was also written in Middle English as Iun and Juin, while the spelling variant Iune was in use until the 17th century. It displaced the Old English name for June, ærra liþa.[5][6]
June originates from the month of Iunius (also called mensis Iunius)[7] in the original Roman calendar used during the Roman Republic. The origin of this calendar is obscure.[a]Iunius, originally the fourth month, had 29 days alongside Aprilis ("April"), Sextilis (later renamed Augustus "August"), September, November and December.[11] It is unclear when the Romans reset the course of the year so that Ianuarius ("January") and Februarius ("February") came first—thus moving Iunius to the sixth month of the year—but later Roman scholars generally dated this to 153 BC.[12]
In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June may have been considered inauspicious for marriages. The Roman poet Ovid claimed to have consulted the flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of the god Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughter's wedding, but was advised to wait until after 15 June.[13] The Greek philosopher and writer Plutarch, however, implied that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May.[14]
In 46 BC, Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, which thus became known as the Julian calendar after himself. This reform fixed the calendar to 365 days with a leap year every fourth year, and made June 30 days long; however, this reform resulted in the average year of the Julian calendar being 365.25 days long, slightly more than the actual solar year of 365.2422 days (the current value, which varies).[15] In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII promulgated a revised calendar—the Gregorian calendar—that reduced the average length of the calendar year from 365.25 days to 365.2425, correcting the Julian calendar's drift against the solar year.[16][17]
In the Northern Hemisphere, June marks the commencement of summer, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the start of winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, the beginning of the traditional astronomical summer is 21 June, while meteorological summer commences on 1 June. In the Southern Hemisphere, astronomical winter starts on 21 June while meteorological winter begins on 1 June.[18]
The June solstice—known as the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere—occurs for one-day between 20–22 June (most often on 21 June), marking the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day in the Southern Hemisphere.[19][20] In places north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle, this is when the midnight sun occurs, during which the Sun remains visible even at midnight.[18]
In astronomy, certain meteor showers occur annually during this month. The Arietids—among the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year—last from 22 May until 2 July, peaking in intensity on 8 June; the Beta Taurids take place between 5 June and 18 July, peaking on 28 June; and the June Bootids commence between 22 June and 2 July, peaking on 27 June.[25][26] The full moon that occurs in June is most commonly known as the strawberry moon because it coincides with the strawberry-picking season; other names for it include the rose moon, honey moon and the poetic midsummer moon.[27][28][29]
It is also National Safety Month in the United States, a month-long observance aimed at increasing awareness of, and ultimately decreasing, the number of unintentional injuries and deaths in the country.[37]National Smile Month, the largest oral health campaign in the United Kingdom and organised by the Oral Health Foundation, commences between alternating dates from mid-May to mid-June.[38][39][40] In Barbados, June is part of the Season of Emancipation which takes place between 14 April and 23 August to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.[41][42]
The quadrennial FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament and the most-watched sporting event on television, usually commences in June.[75][76] The annual Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and widely regarded as the most prestigious, traditionally occurred on the last Monday in June.[77][78][79]Glastonbury Festival, a major music festival in the United Kingdom, also takes place in June, attracting over 100,000 attendees.[80] In China, the annual Dragon Boat Festival can commence between late May or mid-June;[c] it is also unofficially observed by the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia.[81]
^Rüpke, Jörg (2011). The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine: Time, History, and the Fasti. Translated by Richardson, D.M.B. Wiley. p. 23. ISBN978-0-4706-5508-5.
^Richards, E. G. (2013). "Calendars". In Urban, Sean E.; Seidelmann, P. Kenneth (eds.). Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac (3rd ed.). University Science Books. pp. 593–595. ISBN978-1-891389-85-6.
^Mezzi, E.; Vizza, F. (2010). Luigi Lilio Medico: Astronomo e Matematico di Cirò [Luigi Lilio: Doctor, Astronomer and Mathematician from Cirò] (in Italian). Laruffa Editore. pp. 14, 52. ISBN978-88-7221-481-7.
^ abHund, Andrew (2012). Philander, S. George (ed.). Encyclopedia of Global Warming & Climate Change. Vol. 1 (2 ed.). Sage Publishing. pp. 1245–1246. ISBN978-1-5063-2075-5.
^Rocher, P. (n.d.). "Solstice d'été de 1583 à 2999" [Summer solstice from 1583 to 2999] (PDF). Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides (in French). Observatory of Paris. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
^Ninomiya, Kozo (2001). 豪雨と降水システム [Heavy Rain and Precipitation Systems] (in Japanese). Tokyodo Publishing. pp. 121–122. ISBN978-4-490-20435-3.
^Kronk, Gary W. (2013). "June Meteor Showers". Meteor Showers: An Annotated Catalog. Springer International Publishing. pp. 106, 111–112, 134. ISBN978-1-4614-7897-3.
^"midsummer moon, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. September 2024. doi:10.1093/OED/3091675746.
^Coffey, Kathy; Hynes, Mary Ellen; Laughlin, Corinna (2012). Companion to the Calendar: A Guide to the Saints, Seasons, and Holidays of the Year (2 ed.). Liturgy Training Publications. p. 79. ISBN978-1-56854-260-7.
^Halloran, Vivian (2020). "Circumscribed Citizenship: Caribbean American Visibility". In Birkenmaier, Anke (ed.). Caribbean Migrations: The Legacies of Colonialism. Rutgers University Press. p. 80. ISBN978-1-9788-1449-3.
^"Festivals in Brazil". Américas. 57–58. Pan-American Union: 26. 2005 – via Google Books. June is the month of Festa Juninas, a harvest festival popular throughout the country, and kicky forró is the music of choice.
^Grayson, Vicky (2009). "Health Promotion in Context". In Moyse, Karen (ed.). Health in Children and Young People: The Role of the Nurse. Wiley. p. 368. ISBN978-1-4443-2265-1.
^McGrow, Lauren (2017). Missionary Positions: A Postcolonial Feminist Perspective on Sex Work and Faith-Based Outreach from Australia. Brill Publishers. p. 50. ISBN978-90-04-35318-3.
^Okpara, Ngozi (2019). "Child Protection and Development in Nigeria: Towards a More Functional Media Intervention". In Oyero, Olusola (ed.). Media and Its Role in Protecting the Rights of Children in Africa. IGI Global. p. 63. ISBN978-1-7998-0331-7.
^"World Hydrology Day". The Hydrographic Journal (123–126). The Hydrographic Society: UK & Ireland: 48. 2006. Thursday 21 June marks the second World Hydrography Day following its inaugural at the same time last year.
^Lang, Kenneth R. (2011). The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System. Cambridge University Press. p. 4. ISBN978-1-139-49417-5.
^Bishop, Paul (2023). Discourses of Philology and Theology in Nietzsche: From the "Untimelies" to The Anti-Christ. Springer International Publishing. p. 26. ISBN978-3-031-42272-0.
^Steinberg, Paul (2007). Potter, Janet Greenstein (ed.). Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays. Vol. 3 (1 ed.). Jewish Publication Society. p. 136. ISBN978-0-8276-0850-4.
^Ilyas, Mohammad (1984). A Modern Guide to Astronomical Calculations of Islamic Calendar, Times & Qibla. Berita Publishing. p. 80. ISBN978-967-969-009-5.
^Claus, Peter J.; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margaret Ann (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Taylor & Francis. p. 91. ISBN978-0-415-93919-5.
^Caroli, Matteo; Valentino, Alfredo (2016). "Does Recurrence Matter? The Impact of Music Festivals on Local Tourist Competitiveness". In Bellini, Nicola; Pasquinelli, Cecilia (eds.). Tourism in the City: Towards an Integrative Agenda on Urban Tourism. Springer. p. 226. ISBN978-3-319-26877-4.
^ abMurphy, Melinda; Schwartz, Laura O'Gorman. Living in Singapore (16 ed.). American Association of Singapore. p. 31. ISBN978-981-330-002-6.
^Williams, William F. (2013). "Astrology". Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Taylor & Francis. pp. 18–19. ISBN978-1-135-95522-9.
^The Romans usually described their first calendar as one with ten fixed months—four "full months" (pleni menses) with 31 days and six "hollow months" (cavi menses) of 30 days, the latter including Iunius.[8] Later Roman writers usually credited this calendar to Romulus, their legendary first king, around 738 BC. Nevertheless, this early version of the Roman calendar has not been attested, and a number of scholars doubt the existence of this calendar at all.[9][10]
^Some countries also observe Father's Day at different dates in June.[60]
^The festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which corresponds to different dates of the Gregorian calendar.[81]