Reaching over from December, the Christmas season in Christianity also extends into this month. Eastern churches celebrate Christmas on January 6 or January 7, and Epiphany on January 18 or January 19 - In Western Christianity this occurs on January 6, with Christmas occurring on December 25.
January 1 is celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, that is a feast day of precept of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
June
June is the sixth month of the year, coming between May and July. It has 30 days. In Sweden in 1732 the month had 31 days. June never begins on the same day of the week as any other month, but always ends on the same day of the week as March.
June comes between May and July and is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is one of four months to have 30 days.
No other month of any year, common or leap year, begins on the same day of the week as June. June ends on the same day of the week as March every year, as each other's last days are 13 weeks (91 days) apart.
In common years, June starts on the same day of the week as September and December of the previous year, and in leap years, April and July of the previous year. In common years, June finishes on the same day of the week as September of the previous year, and in leap years, April and December of the previous year.
Every year, June starts on the same day of the week as February of the following year, as each other's first days are exactly 35 weeks (245 days) apart. In years immediately before common years, June starts on the same day of the week as March and November of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, August of the following year. In years immediately before common years, June finishes on the same day of the week as August and November of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, May of the following year.
June is one of two months to have a solstice (the other is December, its seasonal equivalent in both hemispheres), and in this month the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere is turned towards the Sun, meaning that June 20 or June 21 is the Northern Summer Solstice and the Southern Winter Solstice. This means that this date would have the most daylight of any day in the Northern hemisphere, and the least in the Southern Hemisphere. There are 24 hours of daylight at the North Pole and 24 hours of darkness at the South Pole.
July
July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming between June and August. It has 31 days. July was named after Julius Caesar. The mid-way point of the year is either on July 2 or in the night of July 1-2.
July always begins on the same day of the week as April, and additionally, January in leap years. July doesn't end on the same day of the week as any other month in common years, but ends on the same day of the week as January in leap years.
In each hemisphere, it is the seasonal equivalent of January in the other hemisphere. In the North, it is summer and in the South it is winter.
In the Northern Hemisphere, July is often the warmest month of the year, and major sporting events and music festivals are held around this time. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is a winter month, with the coldest-recorded temperature having been measured in Antarctica in this month.
July begins on the same day of the week as April every year and on the same day of the week as January in leap years. No other month in common years ends on the same day of the week as July, but July ends on the same day of the week as January in leap years.
In common years, July starts on the same day of the week as October of the previous year, and in leap years, May of the previous year. In common years, July finishes on the same day of the week as February and October of the previous year, and in leap years, May of the previous year. In common years immediately after other common years, July both starts and finishes on the same day of the week as January of the previous year.
In years immediately before common years, July starts on the same day of the week as September and December of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, June of the following year. In years immediately before common years, July finishes on the same day of the week as April and December of the following year, and in years immediately before leap years, September of the following year.
July's flower is a variety of the water lily. Its birthstone is the ruby. The meaning for the birthstone ruby is contented mind. Astrological signs for July are Cancer (June 21 - July 21) and Leo (July 22 - August 21).
In the old Roman calendar, July was called "Quintilis", meaning "Fifth Month", because, in the old calendar, the year began in March. Augustus later renamed it July in honor of Julius Caesar, whose birthday was in this month. Augustus later also named the following month, August, after himself.
Japan
Japan (; Romanised as "nihon" or "nippon") is a country in East Asia. It is a group of many islands close to the east coast of Korea, China and Russia. The Pacific Ocean is to the east of Japan and the Sea of Japan is to the west. Most people in Japan live on one of four of the islands. The biggest of these islands, Honshu, has the most people. Honshu is the 7th largest island in the world. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and its biggest city.
The Japanese people call their country "Nihon" or "Nippon", which means "the origin of the Sun" in Japanese. Japan is a monarchy whose head of state is called the Emperor.
The first people in Japan were the Ainu people and other Jōmon people. They were closer related to Europeans or Arabs. They were later conquered and replaced by the Yayoi people (early Japanese and Ryukyuans). The Yayoi were an ancient ethnic group that migrated to the Japanese archipelago mainly from southeastern China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Modern Japanese people have primarily Yayoi ancestry at an average of 97%. The indigenous Ryukyuan and Ainu peoples have more Jōmon ancestry on the other hand.
The earliest records on Japan are from Chinese documents. One of those records said there were many small countries (in Japan) which had wars between them and later a country, ruled by a queen, became the strongest, unified others, and brought peace.
The Japanese began to write their own history after the 5th and 6th centuries, when people from Korea and China taught Japan about the Chinese writing system. Japan's neighbours also taught them Buddhism. The Japanese changed Buddhism in many ways. For example, Japanese Buddhists used ideas such as Zen more than other Buddhists.
Japan had some contact with the Europeans in the 16th century. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit Japan. Later, the Spanish and Dutch came to Japan to trade. Also, they brought Christianity. Japan's leaders welcomed them at first, but because Europeans had conquered many places in the world, the Japanese were scared they would conquer Japan too. So the Japanese did not let the Europeans come into Japan anymore, except in a small area in Nagasaki city. Many Christians were killed. Only the Chinese, Korean and Dutch people were allowed to visit Japan, in the end, and they were under careful control of the Japanese government. Japan was opened for visitors again in 1854 by Commodore Matthew Perry, when the Americans wanted to use Japanese ports for American whale boats. Perry brought steamships with guns, which scared the Japanese into making an agreement with him.