August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the fifth of seven months to have 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August falls in summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, the month falls during winter. In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers. In addition, numerous religious holidays occurred during August in ancient Rome.
A month is a unit of time used with calendars, which is approximately as long as a natural period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months (lunations) are synodic months and last approximately 29.53 days. Researchers have deduced that people counted days in relation to the Moon's phases from excavated tally sticks as early as the Paleolithic age.