August facts for kids
August is the eighth month of the year. It has 31 days. We use the Julian and Gregorian calendars today, and August is part of both.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere (like North America or Europe), August is a summer month. Many people in Europe take their holidays in August. In the Southern Hemisphere (like Australia or South America), August is a winter month.
August is a great time to spot meteor showers! These are like natural fireworks in the sky. The Alpha Capricornids shower happens from mid-July to early August. The Southern Delta Aquariids are also active from mid-July to mid-August. One of the most famous showers, the Perseids, usually takes place between July 17 and August 24. The best time to see the Messier 30 star cluster is also around August.
Long ago, the native people of the Canary Islands, called the Guanches, called August "Beñesmer" or "Beñesmen." This was also the name of their harvest festival held during this month.
The month was first called Sextilis in Latin. This is because it was the sixth month in the first Roman calendar, which only had ten months. That was around 753 BC, and March was the first month back then. Around 700 BC, two new months, January and February, were added before March. This made Sextilis the eighth month. King Numa Pompilius gave it 29 days. Later, in 46 BC (AUC 708), Julius Caesar added two more days, making it 31 days long, just like it is today.
In 8 BC, the month was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus. He chose this month because many of his big victories happened then, including taking over Egypt. Some stories say Augustus wanted his month to be as long as Julius Caesar's July, but this isn't true. Sextilis already had 31 days before it was renamed.
Contents
Symbols
If you were born in August, your birthstones are the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel. The birth flower for August is the gladiolus or poppy. These flowers can mean beauty, strength, love, and family. The Western zodiac signs for August are Leo (until August 22) and Virgo (from August 23 onwards).
Observances
This list shows some special days and events in August.
Month-long
- American Adventures Month (celebrating vacations in the Americas)
- Happiness Happens Month
- Psoriasis Awareness Month
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
United States month-long
- National Black Business Month
- National Immunization Awareness Month
- National Water Quality Month
Food months in the United States
- National Catfish Month
- National Panini Month
- Peach Month
- Sandwich Month
Moveable Gregorian
- National Science Week (Australia)
- Food Day (Canada) (1st Saturday)
- International Forgiveness Day (1st Sunday)
- Civic Holiday (Canada) (1st Monday)
- Emancipation Day (various Caribbean countries) (1st Monday)
- International Beer Day (1st Friday)
- National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada) (Sunday on or closest to August 9)
- Father's Day (Brazil, Samoa) (2nd Sunday)
- National Honey Bee Day (United States) (3rd Saturday)
- National Grandparents Day (Hong Kong) (3rd Sunday)
- Discovery Day (Yukon, Canada) (3rd Monday)
- National Burger Day (United Kingdom) (Last Thursday)
- National Heroes' Day (Philippines) (Last Monday)
Fixed Gregorian
- August 1
- Emancipation Day (various Caribbean countries)
- Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
- Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)
- August 3
- Independence Day (Niger)
- August 5
- Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day (Croatia)
- August 6
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony (Hiroshima, Japan)
- Independence Day (Bolivia)
- Independence Day (Jamaica)
- August 8
- International Cat Day
- August 9
- International Day of the World's Indigenous People (United Nations)
- National Day (Singapore)
- August 12
- International Youth Day (United Nations)
- World Elephant Day
- August 14
- August 15
- Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary (Catholic Church)
- Independence Day (Korea)
- Independence Day (India)
- National Day (Liechtenstein)
- August 17
- Independence Day (Indonesia)
- August 19
- Afghan Independence Day (Afghanistan)
- World Humanitarian Day
- August 20
- Restoration of Independence Day (Estonia)
- Saint Stephen's Day (Hungary)
- August 23
- European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism (European Union)
- International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
- August 24
- August 25
- Independence Day (Uruguay)
- August 26
- Women's Equality Day (United States)
- August 27
- Independence Day of the Republic of Moldova
- August 29
- International Day against Nuclear Tests
- National Sports Day (India)
- August 30
- Constitution Day (Kazakhstan)
- Victory Day (Turkey)
- August 31
- Independence Day (Malaysia)
- Independence Day (Kyrgyzstan)
- Independence Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
See Also
In Spanish: Agosto para niños
