Ah, the month of June, and the newspaper is full of wedding announcements. I've been invited to two weddings on the same Saturday this month, and my own anniversary is only days away.
Why do so many of us choose June as our wedding month?
I did a little research and found it has to do with the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and protector of the state. Juno is the daughter of Saturn and the sister (and wife-eww) of Jupiter.
Here's a picture I found on Wikipedia entitled 'Juno Sospita' which means 'Juno the Savior'. I find it interesting that this statue is at the Vatican. It's good to know the Pope appreciates good art even if it is Pagan. And the Romans did give us the aqueducts, too. Not to mention roads. Oh, dear. I think I've gone on a Monty Python Tangent.
Other titles for Juno are Lucetia (bringer of light), Pomona (goddess of fruit), Interduca (she who leads the bride into marriage), Domiduca (she who brings the bride to her new home), and Cinxia (she who looses the bride's girdle). I find these last three interesting because it demonstrates the belief that the blessing of the goddess was sought during the wedding as well as the wedding night. Related to that wedding night, perhaps is another epithet for Juno--Lucina (she who brings children into the light). I took most of this information from Wikipidia, by the way.
And you thought people married in June so all their teacher relatives could be there.
Here's something fun since I alluded to it earlier. A little piece of Monty Python about all the cool things those Romans did from the classic and very funny movie, The Life of Brian.
Happy June, everyone!
Jennifer Johnson
http://booksbyjenniferjohnson.com
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