what is july known for?

July is the seventh month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. It was the fifth month in the early calendar of the ancient Romans. The Romans called the month Quintilius, which means fifth. A Roman Senate renamed the month to Julius (July) in honour of Julius Caesar, who was born on 12 July.

The Anglo-Saxon names for the month included Heymonath or Maed monath, referring respectively to haymaking and the flowering of meadows.

Crop Circles

July is the month when circular flattened patches begin to appear in fields of standing corn.

This phenomenon dates from early 1970s, although there are isolated earlier examples.

Weather-lore, beliefs and sayings

Festivals and Traditions

Henley Royal Regatta

Takes place during the first week of July on a stretch of the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The Regatta began in 1839 with a single afternoon of rowing races and now lasts for five days.

Swan Upping

The census of swans takes place annually during July on the River Thames in a ceremony known as Swan Upping. Swans are counted and marked on a 70 mile, five day journey up the River Thames.

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St Swithin's Day

St Swithin's Day is 15 July, a day on which people watch the weather for tradition says that whatever the weather is like on St. Swithin's Day, it will continue so for the next forty days.

Honiton Fair in Devon

This three day fair begins on the first Tuesday after 19 July. The town crier officially opens the fair by parading down the High Street with a golden glove at the end of a long pole decorated with garlands of flowers and announcing:

After this ceremony, hot pennies are thrown to the onlookers from the windows of various pubs and scrambles for by local children. The custom dates back many years to the days long gone when the wealthy of the town would 'aid' the poor.

Grotto Day

25 July is St James' Day (Also known as Grotto Day )

Children used to make grottoes and caves and decorate them with sea shells because the scallop shell is supposed to be the emblem of St. James.

The grottoes were placed outside the homes and the children would sit by them and say:

Whitstable Oyster Festival

The English Oyster season officially begins on St James' Day.

Whitstable Bay, on the north Kent coast, is famous for its oysters. It has been associated with oysters for hundreds of years. An old Kentish tradition says that Julius Caesar was drawn to Britain by the Whitstable oysters. On St. James's Day the locals hold an annual oyster festival, an event dating back to at least the early 19th century when it was the custom for fishers and dredgers to celebrate with an annual ceremony of thanksgiving.

Anniversaries

The seventh month of the Gregorian year is named in honor of Julius Caesar. In 63 B.C. Caesar had been elected Pontifex Maximus. The calendar was 355 days long and gradually through mishandling and corruption (pontiffs allowing the calendar to lengthen to please one priest, shortening it to anger another) January slipped into fall.

July was originally named Quintilis after Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus, a Roman Emperor who died in 270 B.C.  While Caesar didn’t place the month of Quintilis (meaning fifth) in the strangely seventh place, he did decide to change from a lunisolar to a solar calendar. (Before the Roman calendar, there were only ten months, and Quintilis was the fifth month. When the Romans added new months, Quintilis and other months were adjusted.) The solar year would consist of 365 days, adding 10 to the total. The extra days were distributed among the months with 29 days.

A year after Caesar completed the calendar, he was assassinated on the Ides of March. In his honor, the Roman Senate named the seventh month July, the month of Caesar’s birth.

Thе new calendar went іntо effect оn the first dау оf Jаnuаrу 709 A.U.C. (ab urbе condita—”from the fоundіng оf thе сіtу [Rоmе]”) Jаnuаrу 1, 45 B.C. and put аn end tо thе arbitrary and іnассurаtе nаturе оf thе еаrlу Roman ѕуѕtеm. Thе Julіаn саlеndаr bесаmе thе predominant саlеndаr thrоughоut Europe for thе nеxt 1600 уеаrѕ untіl Pоре Gregory mаdе furthеr rеfоrmѕ іn 1582.

Certain соuntrіеѕ аnd institutions іn fасt аdhеrеd to this ancient ѕуѕtеm untіl wеll іntо thе twеntіеth сеnturу: thе Julіаn саlеndаr wаѕ uѕеd іn Russia untіl 1917 and іn Chіnа untіl 1949, аnd to thіѕ day the Eastern Orthodox сhurсh adheres tо Cаеѕаr’ѕ саlеndаr.

July weather in the Northern Hemisphere begins heating up. The dog days of summer begin in July and carry through until August. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the second month of winter. The July weather is an excellent time for completing home renovations and projects. This summer month is also perfect for eating ice cream. In fact, the entire month celebrates ice cream and there are seven, yes seven, ice cream-related holidays on the calendar to keep us cool.

In the Southern Hemisphere, July is the second month of winter. While July’s average temperatures make it the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, July is also the coldest month on average in the Southern Hemisphere.

July’s full moon is called the Buck Moon because a male deer’s antlers grow the fastest and reach its annual growth potential in July.

If you’re born in July your sign is either Cancer or Leo. Cancer is the crab sign and Leo is the lion.

Your birth flowers are larkspur and waterlily. The larkspur represents the bonds of love. While larkspur doesn’t bloom until Fall, the waterlily blooms all summer long. However, like the rose, the larkspur’s colors also have special meaning.

The primary birthstone of July is Ruby. This valuable gemstone. They are found prominently in Myanmar and Vietnam. These beautiful stones vary in shades from blood red to pinkish-red and signify wealth and prosperity.

1. Several countries celebrate their independence in July including Canada, the United States, and France.

2. July has 31 days.

3. The Bikini debuted in July 1948.

• July 1st: Canada Day.
• July 4th: Independence Day.
• July 15th: Leiomyosarcoma Awareness Day. (Purple)
• July 28th: World Hepatitis Day. (Red-Yellow)
• July 28th: System Administrator Appreciation Day.
• July 30th: National Friendship Day.
• Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month. (Blue)
• UV Safety Month. (Black)

For those working to bring attention to important topics, it can be challenging to keep track of the next relevant awareness event. We’re here to help.

At Good Good Good, we aim to help people feel more hopeful and do more good. For years we’ve privately curated a comprehensive list of important cause-themed holidays that we’ve used for creating content on our good news Instagram, our Goodnewsletter, our Goodnewspaper, and on this very website.

We’ve organized this list of observances and events by month — and are making them public for the first time. Our hope is that this will help you or your organization bring attention to important issues.

Where applicable, we’ve included resources (usually good news around particular topics, action steps on how to make a difference, or relevant quotes) — and encourage you to share them if you find them helpful.

The main days and months you should know about for July are:

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Explore our comprehensive list of national and international months, weeks, days, and birthdays for the month of July:

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There are several awareness months celebrated in July — though the five that often get the most attention include Disability Pride Month, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, French-American Heritage Month, National Bison Month, and Plastic Free July.

Get ideas for thoughtfully celebrating Disability Pride Month this year

Also called BIPOC Mental Health Month. Explore these Black mental health resources

Read the good news about America’s bison making a comeback

Learn about the initiatives to take down livestock fences to help support wildlife

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Week-long event in July

Week-long event in July

July 1 to 7

Learn about the YouTubers cleaning up beaches and the ocean through #TeamSeas

3rd week of July

Learn about the combat diving veterans using their skills to protect coral reefs

3rd week of July

Last week of July

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Canada Day - July 1

Dive into the best good news from Canada

American Zoo Day - July 1

Independence from Meat Day - July 4

Independence Day - July 4

National Koi Day - July 7

Panic Attack Awareness Day - July 10

National Kitten Day - July 10

Chronic Disease Day - July 10

World Population Day - July 11

Cheer Up the Lonely Day - July 11

Read these ideas on how to cheer yourself up

Malala Day - July 12

Read all of Malala Yousafzai’s most inspiring quotes

GIST Awareness Day - July 13

International Non-Binary People’s Day - July 14

Shark Awareness Day - July 14

World Chimpanzee Day - July 14

Read all of the best quotes from Jane Goodall and learn about famous conservationists

World Orca Day - July 14

National Leimyosarcoma Day - July 15

Celebration of the Horse Day - July 15

International Drag Day - July 16

World Snake Day - July 16

Guinea Pig Appreciation Day - July 16

Be Love Day (King Center) - July 16

World Day for International Justice - July 17

Read and share from our curated collection of the best quotes about justice

Mandela Day - July 18

Read all of Nelson Mandela’s best quotes

Glioblastama Awareness Day - 3rd Wednesday of July

Anniversary of the First Women’s Rights Convention - July 19

National Urban Beekeeping Day - July 19

World Sjogren’s Day - July 23

National Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Day - July 24

International Self-Care Day - July 24

Explore the ultimate list of self-care ideas, self-care apps, and this collection of inspirational self-care quotes

Samaritans Awareness Day - July 24

Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary - July 26

International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystems - July 26

World Hepatitis Day - July 28

World Nature Conservation Day - July 28

Meet the world’s most famous animal conservationists

World Rabies Day - July 28

World Heart Day - July 29

International Tiger Day - July 29

Read the good news about Nepal’s huge successes with tiger conservation and endangered Siberian tigers bouncing back in China

International Day of Friendship - July 30

Gastroschicis Awareness Day - July 30

World Ranger Day - July 31

Read about Zimbabwe’s all-women rangers unit fighting poachers and poverty

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Birthdays of leading activists, nonprofit leaders, and other world-changers born in July:

Sylvia Rivera’s Birthday - July 2

Tom Hanks’ Birthday - July 9

Arthur Ashe’s Birthday - July 10

Malala Yousafzai’s Birthday - July 12

Read all of Malala Yousafzai’s most inspiring quotes

Chef José Andrés’ Birthday - July 13

Read all of Chef José Andrés’ best quotes

Nelson Mandela’s Birthday - July 18

Read all of Nelson Mandela’s best quotes

Emmett Till’s Birthday - July 25

Learn more about how to honor the life of Emmett Till by supporting his memorials

Alexis Arquette’s Birthday - July 28

C. T. Vivian’s Birthday - July 30

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Main Awareness Calendars: All Awareness Holidays | Heritage Months | International Days

More Awareness Calendars:  Animals | Pets | Environment & Sustainability | LGBTQ+ | Black & African American | Mental Health | Disability | Cancer | HIV/AIDS

Awareness Days & Months: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

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There are several awareness months celebrated in July — though the five that often get the most attention include Disability Pride Month, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, French-American Heritage Month, National Bison Month, and Plastic Free July.