June is definitely one of my favorite months, mainly for its long warm summer days for the pool, grilling out, beaches and boating. It is also the month of my wedding anniversary, our 23rd this year, and we always take time to celebrate that. Mother Nature made it extra romantic this year since June 3 coincided with this month’s full moon. This one was called a strawberry moon because in Native American tradition, it was associated with the blooming of strawberry plants.

The month of June is named for Juno, the Roman goddess of youth and protection, as well as marriage and childbirth. The June solstice takes place on June 21 which is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and officially marks the first day of summer. In the old Roman calendar, June had 29 days and was the fourth month of the year. But in 154 BC, the Roman Senate moved January and February from the end of the preceding year and into the new year by redefining New Year’s Day from March 1 to Jan. 1. So June became the sixth month of the year and in 46 BC Julius Caesar expanded June to 30 days.

The birthstones for June are pearl, alexandrite, and moonstone, all representing health and longevity. The June birth flowers are the rose and the honeysuckle. The rose is a symbol of love, beauty, and passion which is often given as a gesture of love and appreciation and is popularly used in weddings. Honeysuckle signifies happiness and joy, as well as everlasting love and devotion. A number of cultures believe that giving a honeysuckle plant to someone is a good luck charm, providing positive energy and a promising future.

This week we celebrated World Environment Day on June 5, National Yo-Yo Day on June 6 and today, June 8, is Upsy Daisy Day. The credit for this 20-year-old celebration is attributed to Stephanie West Allen of Denver, who declared Upsy Daisy Day on June 8 “to remind people to get up gloriously, gratefully and gleefully each morning”. Upsy Daisy refers to kids who fall or those who have been picked up after falling and reminds us to pick ourselves up and carry on gladly even after setbacks.

We can still look forward to flag day on June 14 which commemorates the day in 1777 when the US flag was adopted for the first time. For nearly 250 years, the “Stars and Stripes” has been flown to demonstrate American strength and unity. As this date is also National Bourbon Day, there is no excuse not to toast our nation.

June 18 this year is of course Father’s Day in the USA and many parts of the world. The nation’s first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington. However, it was not until 1972, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official, that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday in the United States. It will be followed by Juneteenth on Monday June 19, which commemorates this day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, TX, learned that they were free. It became an official federal holiday in 2021.

For some light relief we can enjoy World Juggling Day on June 17, Go Skateboarding Day which coincides with the summer solstice on June 21, Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 23 and Chocolate Pudding Day on June 26 (yum!). I am quite disappointed that I forgot to celebrate National Donut Day last week on June 2 as I was busy with my husband’s birthday celebrations. I can definitely recommend getting married the day after your husband’s birthday as an excellent, yet very subtle, way to give him an annual reminder that our anniversary is approaching!

For a lot more information see www. timeanddate.com, www.almanac.com and www.history.com I will say goodbye this week with a quote from Nobel prize winning 20th century American novelist John Steinbeck. Perhaps better known for The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, here is a great line from his book The Winter of our Discontent: “In early June, the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different.”

God Bless America and enjoy your June! Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com

mailto:lesley@francis.com