What Are the 12 Months Named After?

Each day of the week was named after a god. How about other units of time, say… months?
Well, it turns out that the 12 months of the year were also named after gods. But not all of them – some months were named after political figures, another after a ritual, and others were simply called by their ranking. Let me explain.

Let’s begin with:

January

Ianuarius

January is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. Because of that, he’s the god of duality as well. Janus was depicted with 2 faces, each facing the opposite direction. Janus also represented gates, transitions, passage and time. Most Roman gods have a Greek predecessor or equivalent but not Janus. Janus was uniquely Roman. The choice of name is fitting because January begins the year. Interestingly, January is also one of the lasts to be added to the calendar. A ‘last’ that turned into ‘first’. Prior to that, the Roman calendar (under Romulus) only had 10 months. Then, a reform approved by Julius Caesar, added 2 more months to it.

February

Februarius

It was named after a purification ritual called Februa, which occurred on the 15^th of that month. It was a day of purging and cleansing to encourage a new healthy and fertile spring. During that ancient Roman period, the following month, March, would have been the first month of the year, when the spring equinox occurs. This purification rite was like a preparation to best introduce the new year.