THE MEANING OF THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR

Hi Friends,

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I was going to write about the zodiac signs of the year. But it was way too spiritual, way too steeped in the dark for my liking. So, I took to checking out on the meaning of the months of the year. And guess what, they were just as spiritually embedded as the signs associated with them. Only this time, the spiritual is "ancient", mysthical and somewhat non-relatable. Anyway, as you walk into the new year, you would want to know what each month of the year means. By getting to know this, y0u might be able to put into retrospect where each month is headed for.

But first, there is a history behind the namings of the month as they present themselves annually. And this has quite a deep root in the Roman culture. Originally, the Roman months were ten in number, from Martius (March) to Decembre (December). But a particular king, Numa Pompilius added two more months Januarius and Februarius just as he went ahead to reshuffle their order and the number of days in them. Afterwards, Julius Caesar came and readjusted these days giving rise to the Julian calendar.

There's a whole lot more to this, but then, knowing the meanings of the months would be quite a leap.

1. January
January finds its bearing with the Roman god, Janus. Janus is the god of gateways and doors. His typical depiction is two faces turned in opposite directions. Januarius, Januarie, January is his special month, and it is the time his worshippers celebrate him.

2. February
February comes from the Latin words, Februarius or Februa. And it has a lot to do with the Roman festival, dies februatus, which indicates the day of purification. The Roman day of purification comes up on the fifteenth of February.

3. March
So, there is the fact that Martius or March originates from Mars, the Roman god of war. But then, on the other wing, which was once the beginning of the year, was a time to resume any war.

4. April
Aprilis is the original Roman name for April. But for the Greeks, April was originally Aphro, a short form for Aphrodite. And Aphrodite, for the Greeks, is the goddess of beauty and love. She bears similarity with the Roman Venus.

5. May
Well, the old French call it Mai and the Romans call it Maius. Any which way, May easily associates itself with spring and blossom. And this is not far from the truth as the month has an affiliation with Maia, the Italic goddess of spring.

6. June
So, have you ever heard of Juno? She is the goddess of marriage and the woman of all women. She is just as good as Hera, the wife of Zeus. It is to this goddess the month June holds reverence. No wonder that couples love their weddings to coincide with June.

7. July
Julie is a popular name just as Julius is. Well, Emperor Julius Caesar decided to immortalise himself through a month of the year. Hence, the month July.

8. August
Augustus Caesar followed the same path as Julius Caesar. He named the month after himself, hence making it, the month of Augustus.

9. September
The original name of September is Septembre. And while it sounds like a French affix, it has always been Latin. September means the 'seventh month'.

10. October
In the same order, October means the 'eighth month', as initially, it was the eighth month of the Roman calendar.

11. November
Accordingly, November or Novembris means the ninth month. It seems the Romans ran out of gods with which to name the months.

12. December
To think that December was once the tenth month of the year. Well, it was as implied by the meaning of its name which is the 'tenth month'.

If there is anything to imply here, it would be that the Roman gods were the pillars on which the calendar was built. But then, other climatic factors that corroborated the workings of the gods were also deciding factors.

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