August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere.
In common years no other month starts on the same day of the week as August,
though in leap years February starts on the same day. August ends on the same day of the week as November every year.
This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first month of the year. About 700 BC it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in honor of Augustus (despite common belief, he did not take a day from February; see the debunked theory on month lengths). According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.
In the neopagan wheel of the year August begins at or near Lughnasadh (also known as Lammas) in the northern hemisphere and Imbolc (also known as Candlemas) in the southern hemisphere.
India got independence on 15 August 1947.
Some of Ireland's most famous battles have been fought in this month. They include: the Second Battle of Athenry (1316); the battle of Knockdoe (1504); the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1596); the First Battle of Curlew Pass (1599); the Battle of Dungans Hill (1647); the Battle of Castlebar (1798), and the Battle of the Bogside (1969).
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held the first full week in August each year.
The middle week of August is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower.
The Pennsic War, a massive gathering of the Society for Creative Anachronism, takes place about the first week of August every year.
The first week of August is "Indian Week" for the Penobscot Tribe in Old Town, Maine. In this week, members of the Penobscot Tribe from all over Maine venture to the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation in Old Town and take part in games, Native American arts and crafts, pow-wows, cook-outs, etc.
The first full weekend in August each year, Twinsburg, Ohio, celebrates Twins Days. (blogged
Bon festival – (Obon Festival) is a Japanese traditional buddhist custom, evolved into a family reunion holiday. Many Japanese manufacturers and firms give their employees three to five days off around the 15th of August.
Ramadan runs from July 19 to August 19 or 20 depending on the moon, 2012 - As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about ten days each year as it is a moving holiday depending on the moon. Ramadan was the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were said to be revealed to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
Laylat al-Qadr on August 14, 2012
August 20, 2012 is Eid ul-Fitr
Note: the Islamic holidays vary from year to year. The dates given are 2012 examples.
According to meteorologists, summer extends for the whole months of June, July and August in the northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the southern hemisphere. This meteorological definition of summer also aligns with the commonly viewed notion of summer as the season with the longest (and warmest) days of the year, in which daylight predominates.
The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) was established in 1947 in a post-war effort to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit". That same year, eight theatrical companies "gatecrashed" the official Festival by organizing their own event, outside the official auspices of the EIF; this started the movement which grew into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (EFF). The EFF is also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe, or (incorrectly) the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.