The history of the months: June

June, the month of the sun

I could start with the words of the singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini:

June, who are the maturity of the year, I thank God for you:

on one of your days, under the hot sun, I was born there, I was born there…
And with the harvest you have in your hands you bring us your treasure,
with your ears you give bread to men, gold to women, gold to women…

(from “The Song of the Twelve Months”, in the album Roots, 1972, by Francesco Guccini.)

Yes, I too am from June, and for me, this middle month is the most beautiful of the year, even magical. In June, I bring with me the adoration for the heat and the sun, which is not yet blinding and aggressive, but sweet and caressing. The month is also called the month of the sun. Furthermore, the June atmosphere takes me back to when I was a child: the wheat was ripening, my grandparents’ town was surrounded by golden ears of corn, and you could see the carts loaded with brood pulled by the cows. At the end of the month, there was the big harvest event: a big tractor was moving the machine, and the dust was everywhere, even under our shirts. We children helped pull the wire that was used to tie the bales of straw. Every day the reapers changed tables: the owner of the corn hosted everyone at his house, and the clinking of glasses, hungry jaws, and cheerful songs continued throughout the afternoon. Then the work began again until late in the evening.