29 June: June

Here are ten things you might not know about the month of June.

1. The Latin name for June is Junius. It may have been named after the goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter. Alternatively it may have derived from a Latin word for young people. A third theory is that the month gets its name from Lucius Junius Brutus, a Roman emperor.
2. The birthstones for people born in June are topaz, agate and Pearl. Their birth flowers are Rose and Honeysuckle. Their star sign will be either Gemini or Cancer.
3. Other correspondences for June are Herbs Skullcap, meadowsweet, vervain, and Parsley; colours Orange and golden-green. tree is Oak, animals Monkey, Butterfly, Frog, toad; and Birds the Wren and the peacock, Tarot card, the Chariot.
4. According to weather folklore, a cold, wet June spoils the rest of the year. That said another saying says that if June is wet, September will be dry. If you spot a Bat flying on a June evening, the weather will be fine the following day.
5. Native Americans named full moons after things they observed happening in nature at the time. June's full moon was named by various tribes: Strawberry Moon; Full Leaf Moon, Hot Weather Moon, Moon when the buffalo bulls hunt the cows, Blackberry Ripening moon, moon when the grass is up, and fish spoils easily moon.
6. Things June has been chosen as the month to honour or be aware of include: African American music, cat adoption, skin cancer, camping, country cooking, dairy products, fresh fruit and veg, fiction, and especially gay and lesbian fiction, because June is also pride month; Accordions, frozen Yoghurt, pest control, roses, rivers, recycling, seafood and vision research.
7. The month of June contains the Summer Solstice (or the winter one for those south of the equator), father's day, the Epsom Derby, midsummer's day and take your Dog to work day. The Friday before the solstice has also been designated a day to wear casual clothes to work to raise awareness of cerebral palsy.
8. June is generally regarded as a good month for weddings: “Marry in June and life will be one long honeymoon” goes one saying. The Romans, however, regarded the first half of June as unlucky and a bad time to get married or do business. The first half of June was a time for religious purification, but after that, since June was sacred to various love and fertility deities, the second half was a good time for weddings.
9. Some words for June in other languages: French: Juin; German: Juni; Czech: Cerven; Irish Meitheamh; Italian Giugno, Welsh Mehefin.
10. Certain Meteor showers occur in June: the Arietids, Beta Taurids and the June Bootids.