June is here and summer has arrived with shifts and changes in schedules, wardrobes, and perhaps recreational and exercise plans. The joy of going outside without thicker clothing and longer more beautifying walks and times in nature have arrived with the coming of June and the full blooming of the outdoors. 

There are six stand-out days or holidays in the sixth month of the year, beginning with D-Day on June 6 to commemorate the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944 and a pivotal time in World War II for the Allies. Also on June 14th we bring our American flags out if they are not already in full display for National Flag Day. June 19th is Juneteenth day, a day honoring the ending of slavery in the USA.  Juneteenth is also called African American Emancipation Day. That’s the date the last slaves were set free in Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865 two years after the Civil War ended. 

Moreover, plan to celebrate Dad’s, Fathers, and our Father figures on Sunday, June 19. Dad’s deserve to be acknowledged for their dedication and support of the family and their guiding light of encouragement to people in general when things get scary, insecure or worrisome. Thank God there are people in our lives who encourage fearlessness and tireless determination. We celebrate father’s and father types everywhere! 

In addition here is when June’s spell will be full blown with the onset of the Summer Solstice on June 20th, the longest day of the year. It will be a luminous night as well with the Full Strawberry moon glowing in the night’s sky also on the twentieth of June. 

Last but surely not least, Ramadan begins early in the month, June 5 through July 5. With its   ‘ascetic quality,’ the religious period includes the discipline of fasting, a rededication to the one God, daily prayer, charity and the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is honorable to demonstrate such devotion to one’s faith. 

Hopefully, we are invited to or officiate at least one wedding in June. With the lulling summer breezes and the romantic and fanciful magic in the June air, we are bound to have fun and romance in the sixth month of 2016.