 | August: Encyclopedia - August
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.
August begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Leo and ends in the sign of Virgo. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Cancer and ends in the constellation of Leo.
August was named in honor of Augustus. The month reputedly has 31 days because Augustus wanted as many days as Julius Caesar's July. Augustus placed the month where it is because that is when Cleopatra died. Before Augustus renamed August, it was called Sextilis in Latin, since it was the sixth month in the Roman calendar which started in March.
In the pagan wheel of the year August begins at or near Lughnasadh in the northern hemisphere and Imbolc in the southern hemisphere.
In Ireland, (in the Irish language) August is known as Lúnasa, a modern rendition of Lughnasadh, named after the god Lugh and August 1, (Lá Lúnasa) in the Irish Calendar is still regarded as the first day of Autumn. The first Monday in August is one of the public holidays in the Republic of Ireland.
In the old Japanese calendar, the month is called hatsuki (葉月).
In Finnish, the month is called elokuu, meaning "month of reaping".
In the UK, August is generally when all academic exam results are published, especially for GCSEs and A-Levels as well as other exams. Also, scholars and school workers such as teachers, have a holiday or non-contact time, and there are two bank holidays (UK). It is typically when people go on holiday due to the availability of time.
During August 13 to 19, Philippines schools and theaters celebrate the National Week of the Filipino Language.
August - Trivia
- August begins on the same day of the week as February in a leap year.
In the United States, only 1 holiday is in the United States during this month. Yet it is very uncommon to celebrate. It's Citizenship Day. Celebrated on August 1. No one in the U.S. celebrates it. Which is a wonder why it is still on very few calendars. In Spain, August is the holiday month for most workers.
- August's flower is the poppy.
- August's birthstone is the peridot.
Categories: Days | Months
Other related archivesA-Levels, August 1, Augustus, Autumn, Cancer, Cleopatra, Days, Filipino, Finnish, GCSEs, Gregorian Calendar, Imbolc, Ireland, Irish Calendar, Irish language, Julius Caesar, July, Latin, Leo, Lugh, Lughnasadh, March, Months, Philippines, Roman calendar, Sextilis, Spain, UK, Virgo, birthstone, days, eighth, flower, northern hemisphere, old Japanese calendar, pagan, peridot, poppy, public holidays in the Republic of Ireland, southern hemisphere, wheel of the year, year
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "August", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
