- See August (album) for the album by Eric Clapton.
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 Caesar. 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's 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 old Japanese calendar, the month is called hatsuki
(葉月).
Trivia
- August begins on the same day of the week as February in a leap year.
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