July

July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

It has 31 days and is named after the Roman statesman Julius Caesar, to whom the calendar change of the year 46 BC goes back (see Roman calendar, Julian calendar). Under the emperor Commodus the name of the month was changed to Aurelius, one of his names. After the emperor's death, the month was given back its old name.

The old German name is Heuet or Heuert or also called Heumonat, because in July the first hay mowing is brought in. Other old names for July are Bären- or Honigmonat, the latter, especially in the form Honigmond, also denotes the month after the wedding, the honeymoon.

In the Roman calendar, whose year began with March, Iulius was originally the fifth month and had the name Quintilis to Latin quintus "the fifth" before its renaming in 44 BC (Lex Antonia de mense Quintili "about the month Quintilis" introduced by the consul Marcus Antonius). In 153 B.C., however, the beginning of the year was brought forward by two months, so that the relationship between name and counting ceased to exist. This is sometimes overlooked in the transcription of earlier Latin dates ("7ber").

To avoid confusion with the similar-sounding month name June, July is also often spoken as "Julei" ([juˈlai] or [ˈjuːlai]), especially in telephone conversations or dictation. Conversely, for the same reason, June is often articulated as "Juno" ([ˈjuːno] or [juˈnoː]).

July begins with the same day of the week as April and in leap years also as January (January).

Holidays and summer vacation

July and August form the main holiday season due to the long summer holidays and in many holiday areas the high season. However, July is free of holidays in all German-speaking countries. Worldwide, there are several national holidays, for example the US Independence Day on July 4 and the French national holiday for the storming of the Bastille on July 14. For other holidays and commemorations, see Category:List (holidays) and List of commemorative and action days#July.

Climate

July is the warmest month of the year north of the Tropic of Cancer, i.e. in Europe, North America and most of Asia. July weather has a significant influence on the quantity and quality of the harvest. This is reflected in numerous farming rules, see weather and farming rules for July.