June

The last month of the school year, the summer holiday is drawing near! The weather is warm and school children cannot wait to see the end of this month. People connect this month with the beginning of summer, warm weather, and in Great Britain with such great events as Wimbledon and Ascot. As you all know Wimbledon is a world famous tennis competition whereas Royal Ascot is a four-day horseracing event, which is attended by the members of the Royal Family.

In the United States June 14 is the day when Flag Day is observed. If you have ever been to the States you must have noticed that Americans really love their flag and it is nothing special to see a flying flag on or in front of their houses. Americans take their flag seriously and honour it. The American flag has also changed designs more than any other flag in the world. The current flag has thirteen states while each star represents one state of the country. The American flag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make. It is quite interesting to point out that the United States did not even have a standardized flag until 1912!

The United States is one of the few countries in the world, which has an official day on which fathers are honoured. Father`s Day, the third Sunday in June, is celebrated on June 15 this year. The origin of this special day is not clear. It may have started in 1908 with a church service in West Virginia. Regardless of when and how it started, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd from the state of Washington. She felt that he father ran of the Civil War. His wife had died and he had raised six children by himself. In 1909, Mrs. Dodd asked her minister to hold a special service dedicated to fathers on June 5, which was the day of her father`s birthday. After some time this tradition spread throughout the States. Since 1924, fathers have been honoured and recognized by their families throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.

As for the origin of the name of June, some people think that this month was named after an old Roman family called Junius but it is more probable that it has got its name father the goddess of Juno who was Jupiter`s wife. She was the queen of heaven, who rode about in a chariot drawn by peacocks. In ancient Rome, a festival was held in her honour at the beginning of this month.