January (i/ˈdʒænjuːˌɛəri/
JAN-ew-AIR-ee)
is the first
month of the
year in the
Julian and
Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31
days. The
first day of the month is known as
New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year
within most of the
Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of
winter)
and the warmest month of the year within most of the
Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of
summer).
In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July
in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.
January starts on the same day of the week as October in common
years, and starts on the same day of the week as April and July in leap
years. In a common year, January ends on the same day of the week as
February and October, and ends on the same day of the week as July in a
leap year.
History
January (in Latin,
Ianuarius) is named after
Janus,
the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in
Roman mythology, coming from the
Latin
word for door (ianua) since January is the door to the year.
Traditionally, the original
Roman calendar consisted of 10 months totalling 304 days, winter
being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical
successor of
Romulus, King
Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and
February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (354
days). Although
March was
originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the
first month of the calendar year under either Numa or the
Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). In contrast, specific
years pertaining to dates were identified by naming two
consuls,
who entered office on May 1 and March 15 until 153 BC, when they began
to enter office on January 1.
Various Christian feast dates were used for the
New
Year in Europe during the
Middle Ages, including March 25 and December 25. However, medieval
calendars were still displayed in the Roman fashion of twelve columns
from January to December. Beginning in the 16th century, European
countries began officially making January 1 the start of the New Year
once again—sometimes called Circumcision Style because this was
the date of the
Feast of the Circumcision, being the seventh day after December 25.
Historical names for January include its original Roman designation,
Ianuarius, the
Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month) and
Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth (winter / cold month). In
Slovene, it is traditionally called prosinec. The name,
associated with
millet
bread and the act of asking for something, was first written in 1466 in
the
Škofja Loka manuscript.[1]
According to
Theodor Mommsen (The History of Rome, volume 4, The Revolution,
ISBN 1-4353-4597-5, page 4), 1 January became the first day of the
year in 600
AUC of the Roman Calendar (153 BC), due to disasters in the
Lusitanian War. A Lusitanian chief called Punicus invaded the Roman
territory, defeated two Roman governors, and slew their troops. The
Romans resolved to send a consul to Spain, and in order to accelerate
the dispatch of aid, "they even made the new consuls enter on office two
months and a half before the legal time" (15th of March).
Holidays in
January
-
New Year's Day – January 1
-
Independence Day in Haiti – January 1
-
Handsel Monday in
Scotland and northern
England – First Monday
-
Three Wise Men Day, or Epiphany, in
Latin America,
Spain,
Puerto Rico and
Dominican Republic, and is, although not celebrated as widely or
in the same way as in countries with a Spanish history, an official
holiday in many European countries, for example Austria, Italy,
Sweden, Finland, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Croatia, as well as in
parts of Germany and Switzerland. – January 6
- Russian and Ukrainian Christmas Eve, also known as Svyat
Vechir – January 6
-
Coptic and
Russian Orthodox Church
Christmas – January 7
-
Plough Sunday in Scotland and northern England – Sunday after
January 6
-
Coming of Age Day (成人の日
Seijin no hi?)
in Japan – Second Monday
-
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States –
January 11
-
Feast of the Santo Niño in the Philippines – *Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States – Third Monday
- Third Sunday is
Pongal in India.
-
Republic Day in India – January 26
-
Australia Day in Australia - January 26
-
Makara Sankranthi (Festival of Harvest) in India – January 14
-
Auckland Anniversary in
Auckland,
New Zealand – Monday closest to January 29
-
Burns night in
Scotland – January 25
- The uniting of Moldavia and Wallachia under the same ruler in
1859, Romania – January 24
- National Thank You month
January symbols
- January's birthstone is the
garnet
which represents constancy.
- Its birth flower is the cottage pink
Dianthus caryophyllus or
galanthus.[2]
- The Chinese floral emblem of January is the
Prunus mume.[citation
needed]
- The Japanese floral emblem of January is the
camellia (Camellia
sinensis).[citation
needed]
- In Finland, the month of Tammikuu means the heart of the winter
and because the name also means Oak, it can be inferred that the oak
tree is the heart of grand forest with many valuable trees as
opposed to the typical Arctic forests which are typically pine and
spruce. The photograph of a large tree covered with ice against a
blue sky is a familiar scene during Finland's winter.
- The Zodiac signs for the month of January are Capricorn (until
January 19) and Aquarius (January 20 onwards).
- The traditional English birth month flower is the Carnation