August

Today is the first day of August, a reminder that summer, or lack of it, it running out fast. Here are a few facts about the month of August.

Each month has its own gemstone and flower, for August they are Agate and Gladiolus respectively. August is the eighth month of the year and the sixth month of the Roman calendar. The Romans called the month Sextilis, which means sixth. Eight years before Jesus was born the name of the month was changed to Augustus in honour of the Roman Emperor Augustus Casesar, because many of the important events in his life happened around that time of year.
The Anglo-Saxons called it Weod monath, which means Weed month, because it is the month when weeds and other plants grow most rapidly.
1st of August is Lammas Day, and was Thanksgiving time (Harvest time) in Britain. The name comes from an Anglo-Saxon word Hlafmaesse which means Loaf Mass. On Lammas day local farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to the church. They were then used as the Communion bread during a special mass thanking God for the harvest.
Lammas day used to be a time for foretelling marriages and trying out partners. Two young people would agree to a "trial marriage" lasting the period of the fair (usually 11 days) to see whether they were really suited for wedlock. At the end of the fair, if they didn't get on, the couple could part.
Lammas was also the time for farmers to give their farm workers a present of a pair of gloves. In Exeter, a large white glove was put on the end of a long pole which was decorated with flowers and held on high to let people know that the merriment of Lammas Fair was beginning. A Lammas superstition was for farmers to let the first corn bread go stale and then crumble it over the corners of their barns.
Among festivals and traditions held in August are Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, Royal National Eisteddfod in Wales and Notting Hill Carnival.
August anniversaries. First roller skating rink opened in 1875. Columbus set sail on his first voyage in 1492. The Great Train Robbery, 1963. The Model T Ford, known as the Tin Lizzie and the first mass-produced car, went on sale in 1908. World War II ended, 1945. Martin Luther King, American civil rights campaigner, made his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963. Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in France in 1997.