July is named for Julius Caesar. Originally, the Roman Month was called Quintilis, as it was the fifth month of the Roman calendar, which originally started in March. Caesar reformed the calendar in 44BC and the Senate renamed the month after him. For more on Roman Months, see my post here.
The 7th month is called Lúil in Irish and Gorffennaf in Welsh. In Anglo Saxon it was Æfteraliða, or “after-mild;”, Liða, means “mild” or “gentle,” or the period of warm weather around Midsummer. June is Arraliða, or “before-mild”.
It is on average the warmest month in most of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the second month of summer. The star signs are: Cancer (until July 22) and Leo (July 23 onwards),
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July is the month of Haymaking, as you can see from the image (above from Kalendar of Shepherds). To find out more about haymaking, wait for the next post.
From the Kalendar of Shepherds comes this description of the month.
First published, in 2023 and republished in 2024, 2025