June facts for kids

June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. June is 30 days long, and comes after May and before July. June marks the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and contains the summer solstice, the day with the most daylight hours. In the Southern Hemisphere, June is the start of winter and contains the winter solstice, the day with the fewest hours of daylight out of the year.

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, and last between 22 May and 2 July, peaking in intensity on 8 June.

Numerous observances take place in June. Midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, commences in several countries. In Catholicism, this month is dedicated to the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and known as the Month of the Sacred Heart. The most well-known month-long observance in the United States in June is Pride Month, which is the celebration of LGBT individuals and the advancement of their civil liberties.

The celebration of Midsummer (June solstice) in Norway with a bonfire

Overview

June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. 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. June is abbreviated as Jun, and may be spelled with or without a concluding period (full stop).

Etymologically, June is ultimately derived from the Latin month of Iunius, named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno (Latin: Iūnō). The name June entered English in the 13th century via the Anglo-Norman join, 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.

History

June originates from the month of Iunius (also called mensis Iunius) in the original Roman calendar used during the Roman Republic. The origin of this calendar is obscure. Iunius, originally the fourth month, had 29 days alongside Aprilis ("April"), Sextilis (later renamed Augustus "August"), September, November and December. 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. 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. The Greek philosopher and writer Plutarch, however, implied that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May.

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). 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.

Climate, daylight and astronomy

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. 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 (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. 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.

The Atlantic hurricane season—when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the north Atlantic Ocean—begins on 1 June, lasting until 30 November. In the Indian Ocean north of the equator, around the Indian subcontinent, year-round tropical cyclones appear frequently between May and June. In contrast, Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones are least likely to form in June because of the dry season of the Mediterranean having stable air. The East Asian rainy season is generally considered to commence in June. 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 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.

Observances

In the United States, June is Pride Month

In Catholicism, June is dedicated to the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This observance is called the Month of the Sacred Heart. In Canada, June is ALS Awareness Month, a campaign to spread awareness and raise funds for a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Filipino Heritage Month. In the United States, the National Safety Council established June as National Safety Month, a month-long observance with the general aim of increasing awareness by individuals and organizations of the leading safety and health risks and ultimately decreasing the number of unintentional injuries and deaths throughout the country. In the United States in June is Pride Month, which is the celebration of LGBT individuals and the advancement of their civil liberties. Caribbean-American Heritage Month also occurs annually in June. 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. 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.

Global single-day observances

Noteworthy international holidays include:

Fixed

Movable

• First Wednesday: Global Running Day
• Third Saturday: International Surfing Day
• Third Sunday: Father's Day
• Varies: King's Official Birthday

United Nations

The following are global holidays which are formally observed by the United Nations:

Religious observances

As Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (a fixed approximation of the March equinox), Ascension Day, observed 39 days after Easter, can occur in June. Pentecost is the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday, while Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost. The Catholic Church also observes the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which happens on the Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost. The Feast of Corpus Christi, observed by the Latin Church and certain Western Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, takes place on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a liturgical feast observed by numerous denominations, always occurs on 29 June.

In Buddhism, Vesak (Buddha Day), the most significant Buddhist festival, occurs on 2 June in Singapore and on 3 June in Thailand as of 2024. Shavuot, one of the biblically-ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals observed in Judaism, takes place during the month of Sivan in the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to being between May and June in the Gregorian calendar.

Symbols

In astrology, the Zodiac signs for those born between 21 May and 21 June is Gemini. For people born between 22 June and 22 July, their sign is Cancer. The birthstones associated with June in the United States are pearl, moonstone and alexandrite. The birth flowers of June are rose and honeysuckle.

See also

In Spanish: Junio para niños