The calendar is a pretty neat thing. For starters, it's named after one of only ten Latin words that start with a K, Kalendarium! That's pretty special. (Even though it can also be spelled with a C...)
The Roman calendar, the basis for the Julian and Gregorian calendars, was only ten months long. Now you're probably thinking one of two things depending on how edgy you are: "God I wish I could have two months less every year," or "Excuse me, a year has twelve months, you dumbass." I'll... uh... explore the second one.
So, originally, the Roman calendar was only a thing during the working year – March to December. I guess that means January and February were single for a h*cking long time – they didn't have dates *badum tssss*
Anyway, I promise I'm getting to the point. But first, here's where we get the names for the two 'forgotten' months from: January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of decisions. Janus symbolically looked in opposite directions, and January signifies looking back on the old year and on to the new year. This is where the Latin word ianua 'door' comes from, since it (kinda) looks both inwards and outwards! February comes from Februa which is the 'month of expiation' (making amends).
(Continued in the next post.)
The Roman calendar, the basis for the Julian and Gregorian calendars, was only ten months long. Now you're probably thinking one of two things depending on how edgy you are: "God I wish I could have two months less every year," or "Excuse me, a year has twelve months, you dumbass." I'll... uh... explore the second one.
So, originally, the Roman calendar was only a thing during the working year – March to December. I guess that means January and February were single for a h*cking long time – they didn't have dates *badum tssss*
Anyway, I promise I'm getting to the point. But first, here's where we get the names for the two 'forgotten' months from: January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of decisions. Janus symbolically looked in opposite directions, and January signifies looking back on the old year and on to the new year. This is where the Latin word ianua 'door' comes from, since it (kinda) looks both inwards and outwards! February comes from Februa which is the 'month of expiation' (making amends).
(Continued in the next post.)