The calendar in use today is the Gregorian calendar that was introduced in the 16th century. This was a modification of the earlier Julian calendar, which in itself was a modification of the ancient Roman calendar under the reign of Julius Ceasar.
The Roman poet Ovid, who lived during the reign of Julius’s great-nephew Augustus Caesar, had written Fasti, a collection of six books on their calendar system, including the etymology and festivals celebrated in each month. Known in English as the Book of Days and published in 8AD, it was structured as a series of eye-witness reports and interviews by bards with Roman deities, who explain the origins of Roman holidays and associated customs.
Here are some trivia related to the origin of months, some from Ovid’s observations and some elsewhere.
January: The Roman calendar initially began with March and did not have January and February as they considered winter to be a month-less period. But when they did add January, they named it after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. Janus is said to have two heads — one looking forward and one backward and the symbolism was considered appropriate.
February: Numa Pompilius, who is said to have succeeded the legendary Romulus to be the second king of Rome, had introduced the months of January and February. February was the name chosen as a purification festival “Februa” would take place on February 15 of the old calendar.
March: This used to be the first month of the year and got its name from Mars, the Roman god of agriculture and war. The month started off the farming and warfare season.
April: One version claims the month got its name from the Latin word “aperire”, meaning “to open”, referring to the opening of buds in spring. Others say it is named after the goddess Aphrodite.
It is said that when “New Year” day was shifted to January 1 from March 1, confusion ensued. So while some people continued to celebrate New Year well into March and April, those in the know started sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trick them. The day is still observed, as April Fool’s Day.
May: The month perhaps gets its name from the word “maiores”, meaning “elders” in Latin. Contrastingly, the next month June gets its name from “iuniores”, meaning “youth”.
June: This month is also said to be named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. Therefore, many believed it was the time to get married.
July: This month got named after Roman general Julius Caesar, as it was the month he was born in. Before this, the month was called Quintilis.
August: Known as Sextilis before, the month got renamed August after Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. This is because August was the month of several of his victories, most significantly that against Marc Antony and Cleopatra.
September: The word comes from the Latin “septem” meaning seven as it was initially the seventh month of their calendar, beginning March.
October: The eighth month in the old calendar gets its name from the word “octo”, meaning eight in Latin.
November: Again, “novem” means nine in Latin.
December: The word “decem” means 10, so the 10th and last month of the old calendar was named December.
2016 HOLIDAY LIST
January: 23 (Saturday)- Netaji’s birthday, 26 (Tuesday)- Republic Day
February: 13 (Saturday)- Saraswati puja
March: 23 (Wednesday)- Doljatra, 25 (Friday)- Good Friday
April: 1 (Friday)- Yearly bank closing, 14 (Thursday)- Bengali New Year
May: 1 (Sunday)- May Day
July: 6 (Wednesday)- Id-ul-Fitr
August: 15 (Monday)- Independence Day, 25 (Thursday)- Janmashtami
September: 12 (Monday)- Id-Uz-Zoha, 30 (Friday)- Mahalaya
October: 2 (Sunday)- Gandhiji’s birthday, 8-11 (Saturday to Tuesday)- Durga puja, 12 (Wednesday)- Muharram, 15 (Saturday)- Lakshmi puja, 29 (Saturday)- Kali puja
November: 14 (Monday)- Guru Nanak’s birthday
December: 13 (Tuesday)- Fateha Doaz Daham, 25 (Sunday)- Christmas
