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Calendar
Facts and Information
Months of the Year : Have
you ever looked at the calendar and wondered where the names of the
months came from? The origins of our calendar came from the old Roman
practice of starting each month on a new moon. The Roman book - keepers
would keep their records in a ledger called a "kalendarium"
and this is where we get the word - Calendar.
The original
Roman Calendar was 304 days long and had 10 months that began with March.
December marked the end of the calendar year. The months of January
and February were set aside for festivals. It was Julius Caesar who
reorganized the calendar year to start with the month of January.
| January
- Named for the Roman god of beginnings and endings - Janus. |
July
- Named after Julius Caesar, who was born in this month. |
| Februaury
- Name comes from the god Februus. Romans celebrated this month
with purification festivals called "februa" |
August
- Named for Augustus, the Roman emperor. Originally it was called
Sextilis for the 6th month of the Roman calendar. |
| March
- Named for the Roman god of war - Mars, son of Jupiter. This
was the first month of the Roman calendar. |
September
- Comes from the word septem - meaning seven. |
| April
- The name comes from the word "aperire" which means
"to open" - this is the month when the trees and flower
buds open. |
October
- Comes from the word octo - meaning eight. |
| May
- Named after the Roman goddess of honor and reverence - Maiesta
(Maia). |
November
- Comes from the word novem - meaning nine. |
| June
- Named for the Roman Queen of the gods - Juno, who was married
to Jupiter. |
December
- Comes from the word decem - meaning ten. |
Want to
remember how many days in each month? Try out this poem about the months
of the year:
Thirty
days hath September,
April, June and November
All the rest have thirty one,
excepting only February
Which hath but twenty eight days clear
And twenty nine in each leap year.
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Days of the Week : The
days of the week are named after the 7 planets - the Sun, the Moon, Mars,
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn
Sunday
- Sun for the latin "Solis" - in
old English "Sunnandaeg"
This is known as the Sun's day. |
Monday
- the Moon for the latin "Lunae" - old
English "Monandaeg"
This is
known as the Moon's day. |
Tuesday
- Mars for the latin "Martis" - old
English "Tiwesdaeg"
This was named for Mars - god of wars. Western culture used the warrior
god Tiw. |
Wednesday
- Mercury for the latin "Mercurii" - old
English "Wodnesdaeg"
This was named for Mercury - god of peace. Western culture used the
god Wotan. |
Thursday
- Jupiter for the latin "Jovis" - old
English "Thunresdaeg"
This was named for Jupiter - god of thunder. Western culture used
the god Thor. |
Friday
- Venus for the latin "Veneris" - old
English "Frigedaeg"
This was named for Venus - goddess of love. Western culture used the
goddess Frigg. |
Saturday
- Saturn for the latin "Saturni" - old
English "Saeternesdaeg"
This was named for Saturn
- god of planting and harvest. Saturn's day. |
A poem
for the days of the week describes a child's qualities by the day the
were born on:
Monday's
child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of cheer
Thursday's child is sweet and dear
Friday's child is loving and kind
Saturday's child is happy all the time
Sunday's child is honest and true
But the sweetest child belongs to you.
Hours of the Day : The word hour comes from the Greek word "hora"
- which was used to mark a time or season. The custom of marking day by
a 24 hour system was invented by the Babylonians. The method of marking
an hour by 60 minutes came from the Sumerians. Today we still use their
way of marking time by 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour.
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The
seasons according to a French Revolutionary calendar:
Autumn
- wheezy, sneezy, freezy
Winter - slippy, drippy, nippy
Spring - showery, flowery, bowery
Summer - hoppy, croppy, poppy
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