A June Wedding!
Written by Evdokia Samara
HELLO SUMMER!
June is here and the temperature is rising, quickly promising us brighter days and making us dream of bluer places with the smell of sand and salt. In June we have the summer solstice, the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, which practically means the beginning of summer! Here at SALOME, we think that the beginning of summer deserves a special introduction... so we thought best to give you some juicy details into what the month of June represents, and of course the must have trend!
Flaming June, by Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-1896)
June, the sixth month of the year, was dedicated by the Romans to the goddess Juno (Hera), wife of Jupiter (Zeus), protector of the house and marriage. And that is why until today it is considered a lucky month to get married. So, what do you know about the goddess Hera? She was the wife of Zeus, Queen of Olympus, and mother of the Gods. She was known for being jealous because Zeus was sleeping with other women but lets face it, Ancient Greeks were free spirited when it came to marriage! However, Hera was always his one true love, and many myths attest to that fact. She was supposedly born during the month of June and as the protector of marriage, she gives to the month a special significance.
So let me narrate to you the love story of the two great Gods.
Zeus was the son of Saturn and Rhea and the brother of Hera and other deities. When the Titans were defeated by the Olympian gods, Zeus became the father of the new gods and was looking for a goddess as his companion. Hera, although she was his sister, was the ideal wife for him. However, she refused to marry him. Zeus' love, however, was too great to give up and so he tried in every way to win it. When one day Hera was in a forest and Jupiter was walking, she was transformed into a small cuckoo that had fallen from a tree. Because the weather was rainy, the sensitive Hera saw it and picked it up, because she felt sorry for it, without realizing that the little cuckoo was Zeus himself. She hid it in her body to keep warm. At that moment Zeus took the form of the seductive god and neutralized the last resistance of the goddess with his imposing stature. From that moment Hera submitted and subdued with her beauties the king of the gods.
Hera was equal to Zeus. She was his female counterpart and that is the reason she was also considered goddess of the weather phenomenon. She was respected by all. She had a strong personality and was the only one that could face Zeus, with dynamism and courage or cleverness and a bit of rage. And Zeus always valued her opinion, even if he was not always the perfect husband. It sounds like a regular couple to me - to tell you the truth!
Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida - James Barry
Now, moving on from the ancient myths let’s talk a bit more about June’s birthstone. Our favorite pearl!! At Salome we adore all stones, but the elegant Pearl has a special place in our hearts. Pearls are the only gems found within living creatures, both salt and freshwater mollusks. However, most pearls on the market today are cultivated or cultured since they now occur extremely rarely in nature. While Pearls require special care, they have an enduring appeal for jewellery, particularly as the traditional June birthstone.
As we said in previous blog posts Pearls are regularly worn by brides during their wedding because they bring serenity and happiness to the couple.
So, if your wedding or birthday is during June, or if you are just in the mood for new bling, grab the opportunity and have a look though our beautiful collections to find something really special to adorn your neck, ears or hands.
And to give you another reason to believe all that we have wrote in this article, here is a beautiful picture of the original Salome, the loving mother of our founder Kellie Daniels on her June wedding with the love of her life. I mean what more evidence do you need?
Until next time, enjoy the sun!
Love, SALOME xx
Love, SALOME xx