January

What a wild ride so far, eh? I don't know about where you live, but we've had uncharacteristic warm temperatures here, even by Tennessee standards. We've also had a few days of severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Tornadoes aren't all that unusual in January in the South, but this is ridiculous.

Global warming? Sun spots? Who the heck knows? I only know that while living in Ohio January meant the coldest temperatures of the year, snow-covered lawns and streets, howling winter winds, and bare trees. It was so cold one year there were deer tracks leading all the way up to the small trees and bushes planted next to our house. Poor things were that hungry - they came into a subdivision and risked human contact just to find something to eat.

As I was thinking of the contrasts between the Januaries of my childhood and the spring-like conditions I'm now forced to endure in what should be a cold, quiet month, I began to wonder (as I so frequently do) where the name January came from.

January is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway. The name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word 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 (365 days).

Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year under either Numa or the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, specific years pertaining to dates were identified by naming two consuls, who entered office on May 1 and March 15 until 153 BC, when they began to enter office on January 1.

Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month) and Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth (winter / cold month).

In Finnish, the month is called tammikuu, meaning month of the oak, but the original meaning was the month of the heart of winter, as tammi has initially meant axis or core. In Belarusian January is called "студзень" which means "a frosty one". In Czech this month is called leden, meaning ice month. In Ukrainian it is січень meaning cutting or slicing perhaps referring to the wind. Similarly, in Croatian January is called siječanj, also meaning cutting or slicing. In Sámi it is known as ođđajagimánnu, meaning simply "new year's month". The Turkish word for the month is called Ocak that means stove, fireplace.

According to Theodor Mommsen (The History of Rome, volume 4, The Revolution), the first of January became the first day of the year in 600 AUC of the Roman Calendar (153 BC), due to disasters in the Lusitanian War. A Lusitanian chief called Punicus, invaded the Roman territory, defeated two Roman governors and slew their troops. The Romans resolved to send a consul to Spain and, in order to accelerate the dispatch of aid, "they even made the new consuls enter on office two months and a half before the legal time" (15th of March).

Had enough? :) I don't know about you, but I find this stuff fascinating. I love to research names and their origins, because so often they end up nothing like the original idea or reason behind the name.