October

October (pronunciation) is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name (from the Latin "octo" meaning "eight") after July and August, after Julius and Augustus Caesar respectively, when the calendar was originally created by the Romans.

October is commonly associated with the season of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to April in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.

In common years January starts on the same day of the week as October, but no other month starts on the same day of the week as October in leap years.

October events and holidays

October, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

A shop in Derry decorated for Halloween

• Children's Book Week (England) – First Week of October
• National Day (China, People's Republic of) – October 1
• Dashain in Nepal
• Independence Day in the Republic Of Cyprus – October 1
• Independence Day in Nigeria – October 1
• International Day of Non-Violence – October 2^[1]
• German Unity Day (Germany) – October 3
• Proclamation of Portuguese Republic (Portugal) – October 5
• International World Teachers' day – October 5
• Independence day in Nigeria – October 6
• Armed Forces Day in Egypt commemorating the Yom Kippur War – October 6
• Independence day in Croatia – October 8
• Leif Erikson Day - October 9
• Freethought Day – October 12
• National Day of Spain – October 12 (Discovery of America)
• Thanksgiving (Canada) – Second Monday of October
• Health and Sports Day (Japan) – Second Monday of October
• Columbus Day (Most of United States) – Second Monday of October
• World Food Day – October 16
• Constitution Day in Niue – October 19
• Apple Day – October 21
• Remembering the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 – October 23
• United Nations Day – October 24
• Day of the Romanian Army – October 25
• Independence Day in St. Vincent & the Grenadines – October 27
• Independence Day in Turkmenistan – October 27
• Navy Day (United States) – October 27
• Ochi Day (No Day) in Greece – October 28
• Republic Day in Turkey – October 29
• Halloween, Samhain – October 31

More events are listed on the individual dates of the calendar on this page.

Month-long observances

• Filipino American History Month (in United States)
• National Arts & Humanities Month (in United States)
• Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Disability Awareness Month
• Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month (LGBT History Month) (in United States)
• National Cyber Security Awareness Month (in United States)^[2]
• Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month (International)

Cultural celebrations

• German American Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 in the United States)^[3]
• National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 in the United States)
• Italian American Heritage Month: Italian Heritage and Culture Month ^[4]
• Polish American Heritage Month^[5]

Health observances

• Celiac Sprue Awareness Month^[6]
• Health Literacy Month [1]*
• Healthy Lung Month^[7]
• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (in United States^[8] and Canada)
• National Dental Hygiene Month (in United States)^[9]
• National Down Syndrome Awareness Month (in United States)^[10]
• National Infertility Awareness Month (in United States)^[11]
• National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (in United States)^[12]
• National Lupus Erythematosus Awareness Month (in United States)^[13]
• National Physical Therapy Month (in United States)^[14]
• National Spina Bifida Awareness Month (in United States)^[15]
• Rett Syndrome Awareness Month (in United States)^[16]
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month (in United States) [2]
• World Blindness Awareness Month^[17]
• American Pharmacist Month ^[18]
• Best day of the year 10/18

Miscellaneous

• The month October has become famous as "Red October", due to the Russian October revolution of 1917, although in the modern Gregorian calendar, the revolution started in November.^[19]
• In the 19th century, the month of October was dedicated to the devotion of the rosary in Roman Catholic countries.
• Slavs call it "yellow month", from the fading of the leaf; to the Anglo-Saxons it was known as Winterfylleth, because at this full moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin.^[20]
• Eric Whitacre composed a piece based on this month, entitled October.
• Mental Illness Awareness Week

October symbols

The calendula

• October's birthstone is the opal. The opal is thought to have the power to predict illness. This is because the opal responds to heat. Sickness increases body temperature before signs of illness appear. The increased body heat causes the opal to lose its shine, leaving it dull and lacking color. It is also said that the opal will crack if it is worn by someone who was not born in October.
• Its birth flower is the calendula.^[21]

The Zodiac sign for those born in this month is either Libra or Scorpio, depending on which day you were born.

References

External links