Origin Of The Months What Is The Origin Of The Names Of The Months.

[Eza 5]

Months

 

 

 

June

 

June is named after Juno. Juno is the wife of Jupiter. Juno is a goddess of the Romans. The highest god is Jupiter. And the wife of the highest god is the highest goddess.

 

Wikipedia:

 

The Roman poet Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera, whilst the second is that the name comes from the Latin word iuniores, meaning "younger ones," as opposed to maiores ("elders") for which the preceding month May is named (Fasti VI.1–88). See: Months in various calendars also called the season of the unicorn.

At the start of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Taurus; at the end of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Gemini. However, due to theprecession of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the astrological sign of Gemini, and ends with the sun in the astrological sign of Cancer.

June is the month with the longest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological summer is 1 June. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological winter is 1 June.

The traditional June birthstone is the pearl. The June birth flower is the rose, or the honeysuckle, as roses and honeysuckles bloom throughout June. June is also sometimes called the "Rose month."

June is known for the large number of marriages that occur over the course of the month. According to one etymology, June is named after Juno (Hera). Juno was the goddess of marriage and a married couple's household, so some consider it good luck to be married in this month

July

 

July is called after Julius Ceasar. The general of the Roman Empire became emperor. To celebrate and to honour his highness the Romans called a month after him.

 

First the Romans numbered the months. July was the fifth month. After some time the Romans gave names to some of the months.

 

Wikipedia:

 

Previously, it was called Quintilis in Latin, since it was the fifth month in the ancient Roman calendar, which traditionally set March as the beginning of the year before it was changed to January at the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC. The name was then changed by Augustus to honor Julius Caesar.

August

 

August is the eights month in the Gregorian calendre. August is named after the emperor of the Roman Empire Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Because Julius Caesar got a month named after him Octavianus wanted to have a month too. And because July has 31 days the month of August must have 31 days too. Because Emperor August was in no way less than Julius Caesar. Before the month was called after Emperor August the month was called the sixth month.

 

The emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was called August. This means The Splendid One. So the month is called Splendid after his Emperor name.

 

Wikipedia:

 

This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first month of the year. About 700 BC it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in honor of Augustus, who did not take a day from February (see the debunked theory on month lengths). He chose this month to take his name rather than his birth month - which was traditional - as a mark of honour to the defeated Queen Cleopatra the last ruler of Egypt, this being her birth month.

September

 

September is named after the word for seven in Latin. September is the sevent month when counted from the first of March bein the start of the year.

 

October

 

Latin is the language of the Romans during the Roman Empire. The word for eight is octo. So the 8the month is called October.

 

The Romans originally started the year in March. Till 153 before the counting of the years in the Western way March was the start of the new year.

 

November

 

In Latin nine is called novem. So the ninth month is called November.

 

December

 

Ten is called decem in Latin. The tenth month is called December.

 

January

 

One theory is that January is named after Janus. Janus is a god with two faces. So at the change of the old year and the new year Janus looks back to the old year and looks forward to the new year.

 

Wikipedia:

 

January is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latinword for door (ianua) – January is the door to the year. Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, totalling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (355 days). Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year either under Numa or under the Decemvirsabout 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, years in dates were identified by naming two consuls, who entered office on May 1 and March 15 before 153 BC when they began to enter office on January 1.

February

 

February is called after the god Februus. He is the god of purification and cleaning and the underworld. The second month of the year is ment to purify the soul.

 

King Numu Pompilius divided the year in 12 months. Before that the Romans used ten months. The winter was not divided into months. The last month of the year before the start of the new year in spring was called after the god of cleaning. The last month got 28 days to fill up the days of the year. The extra day was put on the end of the year. In the year 456 the start of the year was put on Januar 1.

 

 

Wikipedia

 

February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 in the oldRoman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC), when it became the second month. At certain intervals February was truncated to 23 or 24 days; and a 27-day intercalary month, Intercalaris, was inserted immediately after February to realign the year with the seasons.

Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, Intercalaris was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year (after a few years of confusion), and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, ..., December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years and thus contained a 29-day February.

March

 

When the winter was over and ended it is time for war. The winter is to cold for warfare. The winter is too cold and the days are too short to march. So in spring the soldiers come out of their houses and army buildings and start to march towards the country of the enemy. March is the god of war. So the month in which the armies start to fight is called after the god of war.

 

Wikipedia

 

The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars, the Roman god of war. InRome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March is the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season. January became the first month of the calendar year either under King Numa Pompilius (c. 713 BC) or under the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). The numbered year began on March 1 in Russia until the end of the 15th century. Great Britain and its colonies continued to use March 25 until 1752, which was when they ultimately adopted the Gregorian calendar. Many other cultures and religions still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.

April

 

There are different theories about the origin of the name of the month of April.

 

First theory

In the month after the month March the flowers start to open. Nature and plants open up. The month after March is called after the verb that means to open in Latin.

 

Second theory

The name comes from the word that means second. The month is the second month after the start of the year in spring.

 

Third theory.

 

The name origines from the word Aperta. This is another name for the Greek god Apollon.

 

Wikipedia:

 

Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to Venus, the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her Greek name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscan name Apru. Jacob Grimmsuggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus.

May

 

May can be called after the Roman goddess Maia. This Greek goddess was seen like a mother goddess. And in the month of May animals get young animals. So the month can be called after the mother goddess.

The Roman goddess for fertility is the goddess Bona Dea. She is identified with the Greek goddess who makes nature grow.

 

Wikipedia:

 

The month May has been named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for "elders," and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or "young people" (Fasti VI.88).

Conclusion

 

The origin of the names of the months shows that Western culture honours still the gods, goddesses and two emperors of the Romans.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Eza (see edit history)