home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- JANUARY
-
- The first month of the year is named for the Roman god Janus, who has
- two heads, one looking back to the old year, and one looking forward
- into the new year. He was the patron of births, and of the first
- steps in all human enterprises. Often the coldest month, January was
- called "Wolf Month" by the Anglo-Saxons, as at this time wolf packs
- would often raid their villages for food, driven by cold and hunger.
-
- FEBRUARY
-
- Februus was the Roman god of purification and cleansing, and he gave
- his name to the second month. It was known as "Kale Month" to the
- Anglo-Saxons, as kale was their main source of food in this bleak and
- cold month.
-
- MARCH
-
- March was called after the Roman god of war, Mars, but he was also
- their god of crops and vegetation, which is appropriate as the first
- day of spring falls in March. Until the eighteenth century, March was
- the first month of the year in Britain, where March is traditionally
- thought of as a month of blustery and windy weather.
-
-
- APRIL
-
- April has traditionally been a month of fickle weather, hence the well
- known expression "April Showers". The name "April" is derived from
- the Latin word "aperire", to open, as it opens the gates of the year
- to the summer months ahead.
-
- MAY
-
- The spring-time month of May is another month which gets its name
- from one of the Roman gods (actually a goddess on this occasion).
- Maia was their goddess of spring, and sacrifices were made to her on
- the first day of this month to ensure the growth of the crops, one of
- the most important yearly rituals.
-
- JUNE
-
- Another of the ancient Roman goddesses, Juno, gave her name to June.
- Juno was the most important of the Roman goddesses, and her special
- function was to look after the interests of Roman women. This special
- association with women meant that the month of June was always looked
- upon as a good one in which to marry.
-
- JULY
-
- In the early Roman calendar this month was named "Quintilius", meaning
- "the fifth month" (the Roman year began in March), but it was later
- changed to Julius in honour of Julius Caesar, who born on the 12th.
- Anglo-Saxons called it "Meadow Month", since the meadows were at their
- richest, or "Hay Month" because it was the time of the hay harvest.
-
- AUGUST
-
- The Romans originally called this month "Sextilis", the sixth month,
- but in 8 BC Augustus named it after himself, because many important
- events of his life had taken place in this month. The Anglo-Saxons
- called it "Weod Monath", as it is the month in which plants grow most
- rapidly. Weod meant plants in general, and not just weeds.
-
- SEPTEMBER
-
- September gets its name quite simply from the old Latin word "Septem",
- meaning seven, as it was the seventh month in their calendar.
- The Anglo-Saxons called it "Barley Month", as it was the time when
- they harvested the barley from which they made their beer, and also
- "The Harvest Month", for obvious reasons.
-
- OCTOBER
-
- This month kept its simple Latin name ("Octo" means eight), as whilst
- the Romans did want to rename it after one of the emperors, they could
- not agree on which one. The Anglo-Saxons called it "Wine Month", the
- month in which they made wine ready for the winter. They also called
- it "Winter falls" as their winter began with the new moon in October.
-
- NOVEMBER
-
- The Romans wanted to call the ninth month after the emperor Tiberius,
- but he refused the honour, and so it retained the name "Novem" (nine).
- It was "Wind Month" to the Anglo-Saxons because the first cold winds
- began to blow now, and it was also "Blood Month" when they slaughtered
- the cattle for their winter food.
-
- DECEMBER
-
- December comes from the Latin word "Decem", meaning ten. The Romans
- also called it "Fumosus" (smoky) and "Gelidus" (frosty). For the
- Anglo-Saxons it was "Yule Month", from their custom of burning the
- yule log to call back the sun on the shortest day of the year. After
- England became Christian, it was also known as the "Holy Month".
-
-
-
-
-
-