Dear Briar
The months were named by the Romans working from April 1 which was the
beginning of the northern spring and the new year, and their year only had
10 months.
January = Janus, the god of doors, depicted with two faces looking forward
and back to see enemies within and without.
February = Februa, which was a festival of purification, contrition and
repentance
Mars = Mars, the god of war - possibly because of the thunderstorms that are
prevalent then
April = from aperire meaning to open and refers to the opening of new life
in the northern spring
May = Maia, the goddess of spring and growth
June = Juno, goddess of fertility and fruitfulness
July = Julius Caesar , Roman emperor
August = Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor
September = septem is 7 in Latin
October = octo is 8 in Latin
November = novem is 9 in Latin
December = decem is 10 in Latin
The spellings we use are the Anglicised translation - if you have a look at
the French, Italian, German etc translations you will see the similarities
as they have been translated into those languages. "ber" appears to be a
Latin adjectival suffix but I cannot find its precise meaning. "mensis" is
the Latin word for month
The days of the week come from the old Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic and Norse gods
Sunday - sun's day
Monday - moon day
Tuesday - Tiw's day = English/Germanic god of war and the sky. He is
identified with the Norse god Tyr.
Wednesday - Woden's day- chief Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic god. Woden is the leader
of the Wild Hunt. Woden is from wod "violently insane" + -en "headship". He
is identified with the Norse Odin.
Thursday - Thor's day - Norse god of thunder
Friday - Frigg's day or Freya's day -Freya (Fria) is the Teutonic goddess of
love, beauty, and fecundity (prolific procreation). Frigg (Frigga) is the
Teutonic goddess of clouds, the sky, and conjugal (married) love
Saturday - Saturn's day- Roman and Italic god of agriculture
If this doesn't satisfy the little guy's curiosity, then let me know and I
will send the request on to a wordsmith who knows everything.
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher-Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON ACT 2913
AUSTRALIA
T. 61 2 6205 6162
F. 61 2 6205 7242
E. barbara@austarmetro.com.au
W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
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