1. Origin of the Names of the Months
January July
February August
March September
April October
May November
June December

2. January:
Named after the god Janus, the Roman god of doors (openings), sunset and sunrise, endings and beginnings, like New Years Eve. Janus had two faces: one looking into the future and one looking back to the past.

3. February:
Februare is Latin for purify. In February the Romans celebrated the festival of forgiveness for their sins. This idea was later borrowed by the Jews and Christians. We know it as baptism.

4. March:
March is named after the god Mars, the Roman god of war. After the purification, the Romans were allegedly ready for more conquests.

5. April:
April is derived from aperire, Latin for open, as in opening buds and blossoms. Some think it’s named after Aphrodite, the Greek name of Venus, goddess of Love. Isn’t spring the time to fall in love?

6. May:
To the Romans Maia, was the mother of Mercury and daughter of Atlas. Maia or Gaia was to many others the Earth goddess, the mother of all life. No wonder the spring month of May is named after her.

7. June:
June is named after the Roman goddess Juno. She protected the state and she looked after the women of Rome. She was so important that she had a month named after her .

8. July:
Quintilis, Latin for fifth month, was the former name of July. (The Roman year began in March.) Renamed for Julius Caesar in 44 BC, who was born this month.

9. August:
Formerly Sextilis (sixth month). Re-named in 8 BC for Augustus, the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar. He was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor.

10. September:
Septem is Latin for 7. Septem was the seventh month in the Julian (or Roman) calendar, established in the reign of Julius Caesar. A time to harvest and for beer making!

11. October:
Octo, Latin for 8, was indeed the 8th month in the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 established January as the first month of the year.

12. November:
Novem, Latin for 9, was the 9th month. Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582, skipping 10 days, correcting for too many leap years. The Romans couldn’t count properly after all.

13. December:
Decem, you guessed it, was Julian's tenth month. Did you know that December starts on the same day of the week as September every year and ends on the same day of the week as April every year?