Our word June comes from the Latin name for Juno, an important goddess--the goddess of women and marriage. Juno, (why not Juna?) corresponds to Hera in the Greek pantheon.
The Anglo-Saxons had another name for the month of June, liðe se ærra, which apparently translates as "earlier mildness." Etymology freaks might see our own word "lithe" (meaning soft or mild) in the Anglo-Saxon word liðe, especially if you're a fan of Grimm's Law.
So why is June the wedding month? I think it has agrarian and practical roots. The Germans used to call May "Lust Month;" June was "Fallow Month;" and July was "Hay Month." (link in German). Some of this relates to planting and seeding; some of it relates to harvest. In northern Europe, the first reliable thaws were in April and planting had to occur at specific times. But the medieval Europeans had an ingenious system of crop rotation such that a harvest of winter wheat and rye kept them busy in early spring. New crops were also planted in April and May and a brief respite followed before the crop of hay was harvested in July (Hay Month) to feed the animals over winter. June was an agricultural "down time" when rutting scores from previous "Lust Month" could be recognized and reckoned with. Babies conceived in June were also born in early spring which again was perfect timing regarding the agricultural schedule.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
10 comments:
June is wedding month because brides have graduated from high school or college. Because the weather is nice, mostly, because guest travel is not complicated by school schedules, and because the wedding/industrial complex wants it to be such.
Most importantly, June weddings don't interfere with NFL games.
I heard something like, June was when medieval peasants had their annual bath. So the to-be-married couple did not repulse each other.
No June wedding for me. At the time of my first marriage I had to go through the religious ritual, "sort of" Buddhist/Confucian, then the "city hall," then the drill of "permission" from my overall commanding general which included several intense interviews with subordinate commanders, then finally an appointment with the Vice Counsel at the US Embassy near-by...never mind all the bribes and crap with local politicians. I married on 10 Dec the day I finally got to the Embassy honchos for a ceremony or sorts (took all of five minutes)....whole thing took 6 months and the "month" in particular was the least concern. Though now divorced, we remain friends, for reasons of respect I've cited before. Whole affair was akin to pulling teeth one by one. 13 months later our daughter was born...the real joy of both our lives, however "cranky" the ex can be at times...for reasons I've also cited before...e.g., her experiences as an orphan refugee in two wars. Part of the hassle was caused by her never having been a camp-follower...I'd met her while recovering from injury upon release from the local evac hospital and spending most of my time in local civilian haunts, learning the language, etc., not GI haunts. The opposite actually...and the various commanders couldn't quite understand how two normal but ethnically different people could fall in love...under ordinary civilian circumstances. They relaxed when they discovered I spoke the language. Subsequently they found new uses for me and my language and ethic accommodation skills, which was a good thing to come out of it all...I was able to "recover" several AWOL guys without strong arm stuff, just conversation and knowledge of how to find them. Still .... haw many marriages take 6 odd months to perform start to finish? Gaaaaah.
While working on my 50th high school reunion, we decided on September only to find out that it was the month with the most weddings (or so we were told), and we had a hard time booking a site.
o/~Another bride
Another June
Another sunny
Honeymoon
Another season
Another reason
For makin' whoopee...~\o
This whole deal seems offensively Northernhemispherocentric to me.
AllenS ... for some reason I've never attended a high school reunion. I'd had a great time and no reason to avoid them. Just lazy. Perhaps I should try to make the next one (this year's will be 55 years) before everyone is dead. Over half of us are already gone, and only a few did I maintain a relationship with...figure that's my loss at this point. My best friend from those days on through the relative present passed away 3 years ago, and I still feel remorse when I know I won't hear his laugh again.
In short, I think it is great you stepped up and helped arrange a reunion. I'll not miss another.
June is also the Mother of all Beavers.
True. She never shaved.
Shaving with a beaver cleaver is not recommended.
Post a Comment