July (i/dʒʊˈlaɪ/ juu-LY) is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. It is, on average, the warmest month in most of the Northern hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer) and the coldest month in much of the Southern hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter). The second half of the year commences in July. In the Southern hemisphere, July is the seasonal equivalent of January in the Northern hemisphere.
July starts on the same day of the week as April in a common year, and January in leap years. In a common year no other month ends on the same day as July, while in a leap year July ends on the same day of the week as January.
The birthstone for July is a ruby.
In the Northern Hemisphere:
- Dog days begin in early July, when the hot sultry weather of summer usually starts.
- Summer school is under way for many students.
- Spring lambs, born in late winter or early spring, are usually sold before July 1.
Previously, it was called Quintilis in Latin, since it was the fifth month in the ancient Roman calendar, which traditionally set March as the beginning of the year before it was changed to January at the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC. The name was then changed by Augustus to honor Julius Caesar, who was born in July. In the ancient Roman calendar the ides of July fell on the 15th day of the month.
Read more about July: Events, Observations, Symbols
Famous quotes containing the word july:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)
“All the experts here ... say “There will be no war.” They said the same thing all through July 1914.... In those days I believed the experts. Today I have my tongue in my cheek. This does not mean I am become cynical; but as President I have to be ready just like a Fire Department!”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“People in Stamps used to say that the whites in our town were so prejudiced that a Negro couldn’t buy vanilla ice cream. Except on July Fourth. Other days he had to be satisfied with chocolate.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)