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August

Eighth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
10 min read
Source updated August 30, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.
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August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.

In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August falls in summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, the month falls during winter. In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers. Numerous religious holidays occurred during August in ancient Rome.

Certain meteor showers take place in August. The Kappa Cygnids occur in August, with yearly dates varying. The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower occurs as early as 10 July and ends around 10 August. The Southern Delta Aquariids occur from mid-July to mid-August, with the peak usually around 28-29 July. The Perseids, a major meteor shower, typically takes place between 17 July and 24 August, with the peak days varying yearly. The star cluster of Messier 30 is best observed around August.

Among the aborigines of the Canary Islands, especially among the Guanches of Tenerife, the month of August received the name of Beñesmer or Beñesmen, which was also the harvest festival held that month.

The month was originally named Sextilis in Latin because it was the 6th month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, with March being 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 46 BC (AUC 708), giving it its modern length of 31 days.

In 8 BC, the month was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus. 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. Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of Julius Caesar's July, but this is an invention of the 13th century scholar Johannes de Sacrobosco. Sextilis had 31 days before it was renamed. It was not chosen for its length.

01Symbols

August's birthstones are the peridot, sardonyx, and spinel.

Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy, meaning beauty, strength of character, love, marriage and family. The Western zodiac signs are Leo (until 22 August) and Virgo (from 23 August onward).

In recent decades, the number of warm temperature records in August has outpaced cold temperature records over a growing portion of Earth's surface.
In recent decades, the number of warm temperature records in August has outpaced cold temperature records over a growing portion of Earth's surface.
Chart shows changes in global average temperature annually in August of each year
Chart shows changes in global average temperature annually in August of each year
Gladiolus
Gladiolus

02Observances

This list does not necessarily imply official status or general observance.

Non-Gregorian: 2026 dates

(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at sundown before the listed date and end at sundown on the date in question unless otherwise noted.)

Month-long

  • Women's Month (South Africa)
  • American Adventures Month (celebrates vacationing in the Americas)
  • Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
  • Digestive Tract Paralysis (DTP) Month
  • Get Ready for Kindergarten Month
  • Happiness Happens Month
  • National Language Month or Buwan ng Wika (Philippines)
  • National History Month or Buwan ng Kasaysayan (Philippines)
  • Neurosurgery Outreach Month
  • Psoriasis Awareness Month
  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
  • What Will Be Your Legacy Month

United States month-long

  • National Black Business Month
  • National Children's Vision and Learning Month
  • National Immunization Awareness Month
  • National Princess Peach Month
  • National Water Quality Month
  • National Win with Civility Month
Food months in the United States

Moveable Gregorian

Second to last Sunday in July and the following two weeks

1st Saturday

1st Sunday

First full week of August

  • National Farmer's Market Week (United States)

1st Monday

1st Tuesday

1st Friday

2nd Saturday

Sunday on or closest to 9 August

2nd Sunday

2nd Monday

2nd Tuesday

3rd Saturday

3rd Sunday

3rd Monday

3rd Friday

Last Thursday

Last Sunday

Last Monday

Last Friday

Fixed Gregorian

Peridot gemstones
Peridot gemstones
Sardonyx stone
Sardonyx stone
Red spinel on calcite
Red spinel on calcite
Watch videos about AugustExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “August”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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