Born in August

The name and the season

August was originally Sextilis, the 'sixth' month of the old Roman year, and was renamed in 8 BCE in honour of the emperor Augustus, who had won several of his greatest victories, including the capture of Alexandria, in this month. A popular story claims that a day was taken from February so that Augustus's month should not be shorter than Caesar's; this tale goes back only to the Middle Ages and is not supported by Roman evidence. Bede gives the Anglo-Saxon name as Weodmonath, 'weed month', when vegetation was at its most abundant. In the northern hemisphere it is the month of the grain harvest.

Festivals and folklore

Lammas, from the Old English hlafmæsse, 'loaf-mass', was kept on 1 August by blessing bread made from the first wheat of the harvest; in Ireland the same date was Lughnasadh, the festival of the god Lugh, with fairs, games and gatherings on hilltops (see the Wheel of the Year). The emperor's holiday, the Feriae Augusti, survives in the Italian Ferragosto on 15 August, now the Catholic and Orthodox feast of the Assumption or Dormition of the Virgin. The Perseid meteor shower, at its peak around 10–13 August, was called the 'tears of St Lawrence' after the martyr whose feast falls on 10 August. In Chinese communities the Hungry Ghost Festival, in the seventh lunar month, usually falls in August.

Birthstone and birth flower

The modern American list gives August three stones. The sardonyx, a banded chalcedony prized by the Romans for carved seals and cameos, is the traditional stone and was kept in 1912; the green peridot, long mined on the Red Sea island of Zabargad, was named beside it; and the spinel, a gem often mistaken for ruby in historic crowns, was added in 2016. Some older lists give carnelian. The month's flowers are the gladiolus, named for its sword-shaped leaves and read as strength of character, and the poppy, an ancient emblem of sleep and consolation.

Traits tradition gives to people born this month

August is shared by Leo and Virgo, and popular portraits of August-born people join warmth and confidence to diligence and care for detail. They are traditionally described as generous, dignified and loyal, natural leaders who like to be seen and to do things well, and as practical helpers who take their responsibilities seriously. Almanacs warn of pride, a need for recognition and a perfectionist streak. These are traditional associations; research has not found that birth month or sign determines character.