I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy some of Summer 2021 with family and friends – socially distanced of course!
Even if you haven’t been thrilled with travel restrictions or the weather so far; it’s been too rainy, too hot, too sunny (it’s never too sunny!) or you’ve been too busy to notice, I hope you’ll find time to breathe, and relax a little.
And just in case you are tempted to “wait till tomorrow” here’s your bearer of bad news alert…
We’ve just turned the calendar page to what is traditionally known in the North, as the last month of summer. So stop waiting! Christmas will soon be at our doors.
In case you’re not quite sure how to spend the month that begins the harvest of good things, I wanted to share some little known facts, (there may be a reason for that) and fun August happenings that can help you enjoy this last month of summer.
Fun Fact #1
August was once the sixth month of the year. In the original ten-month Roman calendar, the month went by the name of Sextilis, which in Latin means “the sixth month”. It wasn’t until 700 BC that August was placed later in order of months and January and February were added to the beginning of the year by King Numa Pompilius.
Fun Fact #2
The number of days in August has changed multiple times. In the ten-month Roman calendar, the months all had either 30 or 31 days, totalling 304 days in the year. Not only did Pompilius add January and February to the calendar, but he also reduced the number of days in August down to 29. It wasn’t until Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar that it was left with 31 days, and it’s stayed the same ever since!
Fun Fact #3
On August 6, 1762, the first-ever sandwich was created when the Earl of Sandwich requested a meal involving meat between two pieces of bread because he was in the middle of a gambling game and didn’t want to be interrupted.
Fun Fact #4
August was an important month for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. It was on August 28, 1963, that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech to 250,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Considered to be one of the most iconic speeches in the history of the U.S., King’s speech called for the end of racial discrimination and for equal rights to all.
There are some pretty interesting days of recognition celebrated during August throughout the world:
August 1: Emancipation Day
Officially recognized in Canada on March 24, 2021, the House of Commons voted unanimously to designate August 1st as Emancipation Day.
On this day in 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect in Canada. Many Canadians are only just recently becoming aware of the many Black and Indigenous Peoples who were enslaved in Canada. Our beautiful country hasn’t always been known as the True North, Strong and Free. Hopefully every August 1st will now be a time to reflect, educate and engage in the ongoing fight against Black and Indigenous racism and discrimination in Canada and throughout the world.
August 1-7: Single Working Women’s Week
August 25-31: Be Kind to Humankind Week
August 9: International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
August 9: National Book Lover’s Day (One of my favourites!)
August 12: International Youth Day
August 16: National Tell-a-Joke Day (So. Many. Dad Jokes!)
August 19: World Photo Day
August 26: Women’s Equality Day
August 30: National Beach Day
August 31: National Eat Outside Day
These are just a few tidbits of information and a handful of celebrations and observances you can get involved with to make August a fulfilling and memorable month.
The whole point of this post is to make sure we don’t let the rest of the summer just slip by. Whether you choose some of these or decide to do your own thing, I hope you have an awesome August!
How do you typically celebrate the month of August? Share with us in the Comments section below
#helloaugust #dontwait #loveshouldnthurt #celebrate