How did the months of the year get their names?
MINNEAPOLIS — There are many ways to measure time: the seasons and occasions, but perhaps the most helpful way is a calendar.
"If you think about what a calendar is really for, it's to give you the days when you're supposed to do things," Associate Professor of History Andrew Gallia said.
Gallia teaches at the University of Minnesota.
"Our calendar is the Gregorian calendar, and that comes from and really is a modification of Julius Caesar's calendar. We've heard of the Julian calendar," Gallia said.
Calendars have long been debated — and modified — before getting to the 12 months we know today.
January is named after the Roman god Janus, depicted with two faces: one looking into the past and the other into the future.
February takes after the Latin word "februa" meaning "to cleanse."
March is named after Mars, the god of war. Historically, it was the time of year to resume military campaigns after winter.
Spinrg makes an appearance in April, which comes from the Latin word "aperio," meaning "to open."
May is named after the earth goddess, Maia.
June is named after Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth.
July was named in honor of Julius Caesar and August after his successor, Augustus.
"They named some of the months by just numbering them," Gallia said.
But those numbers do not match the calendar we know today. September is the ninth month of the year, but comes from the Larin word, "septem," meaning "seven."
October, the tenth month, comes from the word, "octo," or eight. November is nine and December is 10.
"The Roman calendar actually used to start two months later, so it used to start in March," Gallia said. "So therefore, if you do the math, it works out that October would be the eighth month, starting in March."
The Gregorian calendar, the one the majority of the world uses now, came about in 1582. It fixed errors in the Julian calendar mostly having to do with leap years.
