June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the second month to have the length of 30 days . June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere , the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice 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 in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the traditional astronomical summer 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 of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the astrological sign of Gemini , and ends with the sun in the astrological sign of Cancer .
Etymology and History The Latin name for June is Junius . Ovid offers multiple etymologies for the name in the Fasti Roman calendar . The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno , the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity Jupiter ; 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 ) may be named.
In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June was considered inauspicious for marriage. Ovid says that he consulted the Flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughter's wedding, and was advised to wait till after June 15. Plutarch , however, implies that the entire month of June was more favorable for weddings than May.
Certain meteor showers take place in June. The Arietids takes place May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Beta Taurids June 5 to July 18. The June Bootids take place roughly between 26 June and 2 July each year.
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 took place on June 7, and Vestalia took place from June 7-June 15. The Secular Games were held roughly every 100 years in either May or June. These dates does not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar .
In Catholic tradition, June is the Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. African-American Music Appreciation Month (United States ) ALS Awareness Month (Canada )Caribbean American Heritage Month (United States ) Crop over (Barbados), celebrated until the first Monday in August. Great Outdoors Month (United States) LGBT Pride Month (United States) National Smile Month (United Kingdom )National Oceans Month (United States) Season of Emancipation (April 14 to August 23) (Barbados) June 24: Amavasya (Hinduism)
Bike to Work Week Victoria (May 30-June 5) Phi Ta Khon (Dan Sai, Loei province, Isan , Thailand) Dates are selected by village mediums and can take place anywhere between March and July.Pentecost - June 4 (Eastertide), also known as Whitsun Whit Monday - June 5 Azores Day (Portugal) Whit Tuesday – June 6 Feast of Christ the Priest – June 8 Feast of the Crown of Thorns – June 9 Whit Friday (North West England ) Trinity Sunday – June 11 Corpus Christi – June 15 Lajkonik (Kraków, Poland) – June 22 Feast of the Sacred Heart – June 23 Saturday of the Dead – June 3 Pentecost – June 4 Day of the Holy Spirit – June 5 Third Day of the Trinity – June 6 Sunday of All Saints – June 11 Apostles' Fast – June 12–29 Labour Day (Bahamas) National Doughnut Day (United States) National Trails Day (United States) Saiō Matsuri (Meiwa, Mie , Japan )Armed Forces Day (Canada )Father's Day (Lithuania , Switzerland )Mother's Day (France , only if Pentecost occurs on the last Sunday in May, when the holiday is typically held.)National Cancer Survivors Day (United States)Teacher's Day (Hungary ) The Seamen's Day (Iceland ) Festa Junina begins and ends on June 29. (Brazil) June Holiday (Lá Saoire i mí Mheitheamh) (Republic of Ireland ) Queen's Official Birthday (New Zealand , Cook Islands , Western Australia ) Western Australia Day Seersucker Thursday (United States)Queen's Official Birthday (United Kingdom ) (precise week varies) China's Cultural Heritage Day (China )Start of National Dairy Goat Awareness Week , ending on the third Saturday (2016 date: June 18). National Day (Montserrat , Pitcairn Islands , Saint Helena , South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)) Queen's Official Birthday (Tuvalu ) Canadian Rivers Day Children's Day (United States)Father's Day (Austria , Belgium )Mother's Day (Luxembourg )Bike Week (Bicycle Week) (United Kingdom, Ireland) International Men's Health Week: (Begins on the Monday before Father's Day, ends on Father's Day (United States) 2015 dates: June 15–21 Queen's Official Birthday (Norfolk Island ) Queen's Official Birthday (Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Australia , with the exception of Western Australia , which celebrates on the first Monday) Great American Backyard Campout National Flip Flop Day (United States) Pixie Day (Ottery St. Mary, England)Father's Day (Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina , Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain , Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brunei , Cambodia, Canada, Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao , Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong , Hungary , India , Ireland, Jamaica, Japan , Kenya , Kosovo, Kuwait , Laos , Macau , Madagascar, Malaysia , Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico , Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman , Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, People's Republic of China, Peru, Philippines , Qatar , Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia , Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia , Turkey , United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). Father's Day (United States) Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland )Fremont Solstice Parade (Fremont, Seattle, Washington, United States) Guru Purnima (India) International Surfing Day International Yoga Day Juhannus (Finland ) Midsummer National Aboriginal Day (Canada) Tiregān (Iran) World Music Day We Tripantu , (Mapuche , southern Chile)Willkakuti , an Andean-Amazonic New Year (Aymara )Midsummer (Sweden) Take Your Dog to Work Day (United Kingdom, United States)Finnish Flag Day Juhannus (Finland) Armed Forces Day (United Kingdom) Inventors' and Rationalizers' Day (Russia )Veterans' Day (Netherlands) Father's Day (Haiti ) Log Cabin Day (Michigan , United States) Mother's Day (Kenya ) Discovery Day (Newfoundland and Labrador )National Bomb Pop Day (United States)May 15 - June 15 Tourette Syndrome awareness month.May 25 -June 25 Bicycle Month (Canada)May 27 - June 3 National Reconciliation Week (Australia)May 28 - Flag Day (Philippines ) (Display of the flag in all places until June 12 is encouraged)May 31 -June 1 Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak , Malaysia and West Kalimantan , Indonesia )June 1 Children's Day (International), and its related observances:The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia ) Mothers' and Children's Day (Mongolia ) Fei Fei Day (Vancouver ) Global Day of Parents Independence Day (Samoa)Madaraka Day (Kenya)National Maritime Day (Mexico) National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia) Neighbours' Day (International) Pancasila Day (Indonesia ) President's Day (Palau) Victory Day (Tunisia ) World Milk Day June 2 Children's Day (North Korea ) Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan ) Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (Bhutan ) Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria ) Decoration Day (Canada) Festa della Repubblica (Italy )International Whores' Day National Rocky Road Day (United States) National Rotisserie Chicken Day (United States) Social Forestry Day (Bhutan ) June 3 Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky , Louisiana , and Tennessee , United States)Economist day (Buenos Aires , Argentina) Mabo Day (Australia)Martyr's Day (Uganda ) National Chocolate Macaroon Day (United States) National Egg Day (United States) Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan ) World Clubfoot Day June 4 Armed Forces Day/Birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (Finland) Emancipation Day/Independence Day (Tonga ) Flag Day (Estonia ) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression National Unity Day (Hungary) Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International) June 5 Arbor Day (New Zealand )Constitution Day (Denmark )Constitution Day (Faroe Island) Father's Day (Denmark) Indian Arrival Day (Suriname) Khordad Movement Anniversary (Iran) Liberation Day (Seychelles) President's Day (Equatorial Guinea ) Teachers' Day (Romania ) World Environment Day June 6 Anniversary of the Normandy Landings Argentina's Engineering Day Engineer's Day (Taiwan)Memorial Day (South Korea) National Day of Sweden (Sweden)Queensland Day (Queensland )Teachers' Day (Bolivia) UN Russian Language Day (United Nations )June 7 Anniversary of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation (Slovakia) Battle of Arica Day (Arica y Parinacota Region , Chile)Birthday of Prince Joachim (Denmark) Commemoration Day of St John the Forerunner (Armenian Apostolic Church ) Flag Day (Peru) Journalist Day (Argentina) Ludi Piscatorii (Roman Empire )Sette Giugno (Malta)Union Dissolution Day (Norway)June 8 Bounty Day (Norfolk Island )Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Engineer's Day (Peru) Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia) World Brain Tumor Day (international) World Oceans Day (international)June 9 Anniversary of the Accession of King Abdullah II (Jordan ) Autonomy Day (Åland Islands) La Rioja Day (La Rioja) Murcia Day (Murcia)National Heroes' Day (Uganda )June 10 Abolition Day (French Guiana )Army Day (Jordan ) Navy Day (Italy) Portugal Day (Portugal)Reconciliation Day (Republic of the Congo) June 11 American Evacuation Day (Libya) Birthday of Prince Henrik (Denmark) Brazilian Navy commemorative day Davis Day (Cape Breton , Nova Scotia , Canada)Kamehameha Day (Hawaii , United States) Student Day (Honduras) June 12 Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay) Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)Helsinki Day (Finland) June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State ) Loving Day (United States)Philippine Independence Day. Russia Day (Russia)World Day Against Child Labour (international)June 13 Inventors' Day (Hungary)Suleimaniah City Fallen and Martyrs Day (Iraqi Kurdistan ) June 14 Commemoration of the Soviet Deportation related observances: Mourning and Commemoration Day or Leinapäev (Estonia) Mourning and Hope Day (Lithuania) Day of Memory for Repressed People (Armenia) Flag Day (United States) Freedom Day (Malawi) Liberation Day (Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ) World Blood Donor Day (international)June 15 Arbor Day (Costa Rica) Cagayan de Oro Charter Day (Cagayan de Oro City) Day of Valdemar and Reunion day (Flag Day) (Denmark) Engineer's Day (Italy) Global Wind Day (international)Mangaia Gospel Day (Mangaia, Cook Islands )National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan ) Statehood Day (Arkansas , United States) June 16 Bloomsday (Dublin , Ireland)Engineer's Day (Argentina) International Day of the African Child Anniversary of Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikhism ) Sussex Day (Sussex )Youth Day (South Africa)June 17 Bunker Hill Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts , United States) Father's Day (El Salvador, Guatemala) Icelandic National Day Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day (Latvia)World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (International)Zemla Intifada Day () June 18 Autistic Pride Day (International)Foundation Day (Benguet) Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan) National Day (Seychelles) Queen Mother's Birthday (Cambodia) Waterloo Day (United Kingdom)June 19 Day of the Independent Hungary (Hungary)Feast of Forest (Palawan ) Juneteenth (United States, especially African Americans) Labour Day (Trinidad and Tobago) Laguna Day (Laguna)Never Again Day (Uruguay) Surigao del Norte Day (Surigao del Norte)Surigao del Sur Day (Surigao del Sur)World Sickle Cell Day (International) World Sauntering Day June 20 Day of the National Flag (Argentina) Festival in honor of Summanus (Roman Empire )Gas Sector Day (Azerbaijan) Martyrs' Day (Eritrea) West Virginia Day (West Virginia )World Refugee Day (International)June 21 Day of the Martyrs (Togo) Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon , Jordan, Syria , Uganda, United Arab Emirates ) Go Skateboarding Day International Sushi Day National Aboriginal Day (Canada) National Day (Greenland) World Humanist Day (Humanism )World Hydrography Day June 22 Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Croatia)Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War (Belarus) Father's Day (Guernsey , Isle of Man , and Jersey ) Teachers' Day (El Salvador) June 23 Father's Day (Nicaragua, Poland) Grand Duke's Official Birthday (Luxembourg)International Widows Day (international)National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (Canada)Okinawa Memorial Day (Okinawa, Japan)St John's Eve (Roman Catholic Church, Europe): Bonfires of Saint John (Spain)First day of Golowan Festival (Cornwall ) Jaaniõhtu (Estonia) Jāņi (Latvia)Last day of Drăgaica fair (Buzău , Romania) Festa de São João do Porto (Portugal)United Nations Public Service Day (International)Victory Day (Estonia) June 24 Army Day or Battle of Carabobo Day (Venezuela) Bannockburn Day (Scotland)Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas, Brazil) St John's Day, second day of celebrations. Enyovden (Bulgaria) Jaanipäev (Estonia) Jāņi (Latvia)Jónsmessa (Iceland)Midsummer Day (England)Saint Jonas' Festival or Joninės (Lithuania) Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec , Canada)Sânziene (western Carpathian Mountains of Romania) Youth Day (Ukraine)June 25 Arbor Day (Philippines) Independence Day (Mozambique) National Catfish Day (United States)Statehood Day (Croatia) Statehood Day (Slovenia) Statehood Day (Virginia) Teacher's Day (Guatemala) World Vitiligo Day June 26 Army and Navy Day (Azerbaijan) Flag Day (Romania) Independence Day (Madagascar) Independence Day (Somalia) International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (International) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International)Ratcatcher's Day (Hamelin , Germany)Sunthorn Phu Day (Thailand) June 27 Canadian Multiculturalism Day (Canada) Day of Turkmen Workers of Culture and Art (Turkmenistan) Helen Keller Day (United States)Independence Day (Djibouti) Mixed Race Day (Brazil)National HIV Testing Day (United States) National PTSD Awareness Day (United States) Seven Sleepers Day or Siebenschläfertag (Germany) Unity Day (Tajikistan) June 28 Constitution Day (Ukraine) Family Day (Vietnam) Poznań Remembrance Day (Poland) Soviet Occupation Day, Moldova Stonewall Riots Anniversary (United States)Tau Day Vidovdan (Eastern Orthodox Church )June 29 Feast of Saints Peter and Paul Haro Wine Festival (Haro, La Rioja , Spain)Engineer's Day (Ecuador) Fallen Soldiers' and Missing in Action Memorial Day () Independence Day (Seychelles) Veterans' Day (Netherlands) June 30 Armed Forces Day (Guatemala) General Prayer Day (Central African Republic) Independence Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Navy Day (Israel) Philippine–Spanish Friendship Day (Philippines)Revolution Day (Sudan) June's birthstones are pearl , alexandrite and moonstone . The birth flowers are rose and honeysuckle . The zodiac signs for the month of June are Gemini (until June 20) and Cancer (June 21 onwards). 
