The legacy of the ancient Romans is impossible to deny, as they gave us so much that we continue to rely upon today: bridges, roads and even toga parties. The Romans are also whom we can thank for naming every month of the year, as we still use their names over 2,000 years later. Let’s start with January, the very first month of the year. January is named after Janus, the Roman god of new beginnings, whose own name is based on the Latin word for “doorway.” This is quite appropriate considering that so many folks use the new year as a time to open the door on a new chapter in life.
Now let’s look at the second month of the year. At first glance, you may assume that February was also named after a god — specifically Februus, the ancient Roman god of purifications. However, it’s not that simple. Both the month and the god were actually named after Februa, a purification festival that occurred around that time of year. This festival took its name from the Latin word februum, meaning “purification.”
Both of the terms “January” — Ianuarius in Latin — and “February” (Februarius) were purportedly coined around 713 BCE by Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. In that year, he added both months to the ancient Roman calendar, which was previously only 10 months long and began in March. No later than 153 BCE, the Romans moved the new year up from the Ides of March (March 15) to January 1. Later in the year 45 BCE, the Romans formally adopted the new Julian Calendar, named after Julius Caesar, which formally established January and February as the first two months of the year.
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