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.
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.[1]: 304 [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]: 304 June is abbreviated as Jun, and may be spelled with or without a concluding period (full stop).[3]
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-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.[4][5]
June originates from the month of Iunius (also called mensis Iunius)[6] 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.[1]: 377–378 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.[10] 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.[11] The Greek philosopher and writer
Plutarch, however, implied that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May.[12]
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).[13] 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.[14][15]
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.[16] 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.[17][18] 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.[16]
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.[19] In the Indian Ocean north of the
equator, around the
Indian subcontinent, year-round tropical cyclones appear frequently between May and June.[20] In contrast,
Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones are least likely to form in June because of the dry season of the
Mediterranean having stable air.[21] The
East Asian rainy season is generally considered to commence in June.[22] 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.[23][24]
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.[59][60]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.[61]
^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.
^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.
^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.
^Lang, Kenneth R. (2011). The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System. Cambridge University Press. p. 4.
ISBN978-1-139-49417-5.
^"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.
^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.
^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.[7] 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.[8][9]
^Most common date; many countries observe Father's Day at different dates in June.[52]