MONTHS OF THE YEAR

Summary

JANUARY
 Janus – who gave this month its name
 Before the name January was adopted in England, this month was called Wulf-Monath, or “wolf-
month”

FEBRUARY
 Middle of the month was marked in ancient Rome for a religious ceremony in which women were
beaten for barrenness (festival of Lupercalia – held in a cave by the river Tiber)
 Februa – thongs of purification
 Juno – whose epithet as the goddess of fertility was Februaria, and from this we took the name of
our month
 Had 29 days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it to August
 English is Sprote-Kalemonath

MARCH
 New year began before the time of Julius Caesar
 Open spring season for waging of war, so the month was dedicated to Mars
 Old English name was Hlyd-Monath, “boisterous-month”
 “mad as a March hare” comes from the fact that March is the mating season for hares

APRIL
 Month of the first flowers in ancient Italy
 Roman name was Aprilis, based on the Latin word aperio which means “open”
 Britons – lacked the poetry of the Mediterranean, called April Easter-Monat, or “Easter-month”
 April Fool’s Day – recalls the festivities held by all ancient peoples at the vernal equinox,
beginning on their New Year’s Day, March 25th , and ending on April 1st
 18th century in Great Britain that April Fool’s Day was created (represent the sending of Christ
from Pilate to Herod)

MAY
 “the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land”
 Sir Thomas Malory called it “the lusty moneth of May”
 Considered unlucky for marriage
 Bona Dea – goddess of chastity
 Festival of the unhappy dead
 Latin Maius, is believed by many to have come from Maia who was the mother of the god
Hermes
 Thrimilce, native English

JUNE
 Probably from Junius, the name of a Latin family to which the murderers of Julius Caesar
belonged
 Some scholar believed it came from the goddess Juno who was the protectress of women
 Favourite month for marriages all the way down from earliest Rome
 English was Sere-Monath, or “dry-month”
JULY
 Name proposed by Mark Antony, the Roman general and famous lover of Cleopatra
 Suggested that the month of Caius Julius Caesar be named Julius in his honor
 English name was Julie, the July
 Maed-Monath, or “meadow month”

AUGUST
 Octavian – the first Roman emperor, was the nephew of Julius Caesar
 Augustus – official title of Octavian given by the Senate
 Weod-Monath, “weed-month”

SEPTEMBER
 Septem – seven
 Charlemagne – Emperor of the West at the beginning of the 9th century, refused the Roman name
and called September the “harvest-month”
 Known as Haefest-Monath
 Harvest was largely barley, English converted into ale

OCTOBER
 Smoke of the burning leaves is apt to be in the air
 Martial – Roman poet, called October “fumosus,” or “smoky”
 From the Latin octo, “eight”
 Germanicus Caesar – Roman general who wanted the month named after him
 English was Win-Monath, or “wine-month”
 Real preoccupation was the “Brown October Ale”

NOVEMBER
 Proposed to be renamed for the Emperor Tiberius
 Remained from the Latin novem, “nine”
 English was Biot-Monath, “sacrifice month”
 Heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed cattle to their gods
 Sometimes Wind-Monath

DECEMBER
 Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus – Emperor of Rome toward the end of the 2nd century
 Amazonius – name the emperor had in mind for his mistress in the calendar
 Decem, “ten”
 Common name among the English was Mid-Winter-Monath
 Christmas of the day called it Haligh-Monath, or “Holy-Month” because of the birth of Christ
QUIZ

A. Identify which month:

1. Middle of the month was marked in ancient Rome for a religious ceremony in which women were
beaten for barrenness (festival of Lupercalia – held in a cave by the river Tiber)
2. Had 29 days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it to August
3. New year began before the time of Julius Caesar
4. Open spring season for waging of war, so the month was dedicated to Mars
5. Month of the first flowers in ancient Italy
6. “the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land”
7. Considered unlucky for marriage
8. Festival of the unhappy dead
9. Favourite month for marriages all the way down from earliest Rome
10. Harvest was largely barley, English converted into ale
11. Smoke of the burning leaves is apt to be in the air
12. Heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed cattle to their gods

B. Identify English name:

1. January
2. February
3. March
4. April
5. May
6. June
7. July
8. August
9. September
10. October
11. November
12. December

C. Fill-in-the-blanks

JANUARY
 __________ – who gave this month its name
 Before the name January was adopted in __________, this month was called Wulf-Monath, or
“wolf-month”

FEBRUARY
 Middle of the month was marked in ancient __________ for a religious ceremony in which
women were beaten for barrenness (festival of __________ – held in a cave by the river
__________)
 __________ – thongs of purification
 __________ – whose epithet as the goddess of fertility was __________, and from this we took
the name of our month
 Had __________ days, but the Roman Senate took one away and gave it to __________

MARCH
 New year began before the time of __________
 Open spring season for waging of war, so the month was dedicated to __________
  __________________________ comes from the fact that March is the mating season for hares

APRIL
 Month of the first flowers in ancient __________
 Roman name was __________, based on the Latin word __________ which means “open”
 __________ – lacked the poetry of the Mediterranean, called April Easter-Monat, or “Easter-
month”
 __________________– recalls the festivities held by all ancient peoples at the vernal equinox,
beginning on their New Year’s Day, March 25th , and ending on April 1st
 ______________ in Great Britain that April Fool’s Day was created (represent the sending of
Christ from Pilate to Herod)

MAY
 __________________ called it “the lusty moneth of May”
 __________ – goddess of chastity
 Festival of the unhappy dead
 Latin Maius, is believed by many to have come from Maia who was the mother of the god
Hermes
 Thrimilce, native English

JUNE
 Probably from Junius, the name of a Latin family to which the murderers of Julius Caesar
belonged
 Some scholar believed it came from the goddess Juno who was the protectress of women
 Favourite month for marriages all the way down from earliest Rome
 English was Sere-Monath, or “dry-month”

JULY
 Name proposed by Mark Antony, the Roman general and famous lover of Cleopatra
 Suggested that the month of Caius Julius Caesar be named Julius in his honor
 English name was Julie, the July
 Maed-Monath, or “meadow month”

AUGUST
 Octavian – the first Roman emperor, was the nephew of Julius Caesar
 Augustus – official title of Octavian given by the Senate
 Weod-Monath, “weed-month”

SEPTEMBER
 Septem – seven
 Charlemagne – Emperor of the West at the beginning of the 9th century, refused the Roman name
and called September the “harvest-month”
 Known as Haefest-Monath
 Harvest was largely barley, English converted into ale

OCTOBER
 Smoke of the burning leaves is apt to be in the air
 Martial – Roman poet, called October “fumosus,” or “smoky”
 From the Latin octo, “eight”
  Germanicus Caesar – Roman general who wanted the month named after him
 English was Win-Monath, or “wine-month”
 Real preoccupation was the “Brown October Ale”

NOVEMBER
 Proposed to be renamed for the Emperor Tiberius
 Remained from the Latin novem, “nine”
 English was Biot-Monath, “sacrifice month”
 Heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed cattle to their gods
 Sometimes Wind-Monath

DECEMBER
 Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus – Emperor of Rome toward the end of the 2nd century
 Amazonius – name the emperor had in mind for his mistress in the calendar
 Decem, “ten”
 Common name among the English was Mid-Winter-Monath
 Christmas of the day called it Haligh-Monath, or “Holy-Month” because of the birth of Christ