ecn-pa:scott (10/22/82)
Interesting fact about sep==9, oct==10. In most (all?) dialects of Chinese, as well as at least some other Asian languages, The months don't have special names, but are just "one month", "two month", etc. So September IS "nine month". The days are also just refered to by number, with Sunday being a special case. It's called the "week day", and other days are called (sort of) "week day one", etc. That fact was brought home to me recently when a Taiwanese friend said, "I'll see you on Tuesday" and held up two (tue?) fingers. Scott Deerwester Purdue University Libraries
thomas (10/23/82)
Actually, back in roman times, the year began on March 1. Thus, September was the 7th month (sept = 7!), october was the 8th, november the 9th and december the 10th (all of which fit their names quite well). Sometime later, the beginning of the year was moved back to January, but the names stayed the same. Another interesting fact is that Feb used to have enough days, until Julius and Augustus stole some days from it to make July and August longer. =Spencer
majka (10/24/82)
It is easy to see the connection of the names of the months with
their number (sept = 7 & etc), but what of the others? I have heard
that August comes from Augustus, but does July come from Julius?
What about January to June? Does anyone know?
Not afraid to name a month after me,
Marc Majka
...decvax!microsoft!uw-beaver!ubc-vision!majkarhm@sri-unix (10/25/82)
I would like to hear/see some evidence that: 1. back in Roman times, the year began on March 1. It certainly did not during the lifetime of Julius or Augustus, and my best information is that the year began in January as far back as 400 B.C. Clearly, by the names of the months, something must have happened in very early times, but the fact seems to be that the Romans of historical times began the year in January, and that this was changed (in various ways) during the Christian era. For example, when England changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they changed
pcmcgeer (10/26/82)
Actually, Julius Caesar shortened February because the Romans considered 12 to be an unlucky number. Rick.
hkn (10/26/82)
#R:ubc-visi:-16000:whuxlb:5200016:000:296 whuxlb!hkn Oct 26 12:39:00 1982 January: named after the two-faced god Janus (one face looking back on the past year, one looking forward ?) March: named after the god of war Mars June: named after Juno (Roman version of Hera, wife of Zeus/Jupiter) July: Julius August: Augustus Can't remember February, April or May hkn
rew (10/26/82)
January, for one, is named after the god Janus. This was considered appropriate because it was the first month of the year and Janus is the two faced god, one face looking into the future, the other into the past. Bob Warren cbosg!nscs!rew
minow (10/27/82)
Marc Majka "not afraid to name a month afer me" asked for derivations of the other months. Sorry to ruin his dreams, but the month of May derives from a Scandinavian word that became "maja" in Swedish. The meaning is "to clothe" -- this is the month that, in Scandinavia, the trees are clothed with leaves. The maypole has the same derivation: clothed in garlands of flowers and leaves. In Sweden and Finland, by the way, the maypole is raised on midsummer's eve. Martin Minow decvax!minow
ARPAVAX:UNKNOWN:G:inp (10/27/82)
Well what's been puzzling me for a while is OUR (latin) names for months. Can anyone explain SEPTember 7, OCTober 8, NOVEMber 9, DECEMber 10??? Bob Tidd, ucbvax!g:inp
smann (10/28/82)
January was named after Janus, the god with a face looking forward and backward - apt for the beginning of a new year. smann ihuxv!smann
steward (10/29/82)
I have enjoyed reading the discussions on the net on the "Gregorian Great
Circle" and the various anachronisms and anomalies in his calendar. I
thought that there may be, however few, some who would find of interest
an earlier entry in the, no doubt, same-and-continuing discussion. Of
course, this was written before Pope Gregory XII made his mark on time.
I do not mean for the following to be taken as a personal assault on
anyone who participated in these discussions.
-Bill Steward
"...that at the beginning of the world, - I speak of a long time, it is
above forty quarantains, or forty nights according to the supputations
of the ancient Druids, - a little after that Abel was killed by his
brother Cain, the earth, imbrued with the blood of the just, was one
year so exceedingly fertile in all those fruits which it usually
produces to us, and especially in medlars, that ever since, throughout
the ages, it hath been called the year of the great medlars; for three
of them did fill a bushel. In it the Calends were found by the
Grecian almanacks. There was that year nothing of the month of March
in the time of Lent, and the middle of August was in May. In the
month of October, as I take it, or at least September, that I may not
err, for I will carefully take heed of that, was the week so famous in
the Annals, which they call the week of the three Thursdays; for it
had three of them by means of their irregular leap-years, called
Bissextiles, occasioned by the sun's having tripped and stumbled a
little towards the left hand, like a debtor afraid of serjeants,
coming right upon him to arrest him : and the moon varied from her
course above five fathom, and there was manifestly seen the motion of
trepidation in the firmament of the fixed stars, called Aplanes, so
that the middle Pleiade, leaving her fellows, declined towards the
equinoctial, and the star named Spica left the constellation of the
Virgin to withdraw herself towards the Balance, known by the name of
Libra; which astrologians cannot set their teeth in them; and indeed
their teeth had been pretty long if they could have reached thither."
Francois Rabelais
"Pantagruel" Chapter 1 ~1550
Translation by Sir Thomas Urquhart
and Motteux. 1851 edition.gil (11/01/82)
I believe that until recently the year began in March (with spring), so that September was indeed the seventh month, &c. Somewhere I read that the New Year used to be celebrated on March 25th, something Tolkien readers may find significant.