How the Awesome Insanity of the Calendar Came to Be
A history lesson
The last month of the year is a time of reflection. People often look back at the year that is about to close and look ahead to the new year, too, as a time of assessment.
* What worked or went well this year?
* What changes can I make for next year to be even better?
These questions prompt reflection and offer the potential for personal growth. Transitioning from something old into something new is a good time for self-evaluation. Closing out the current year and beginning a new one is as good a time as any to check performance and future goals.
December. The last month of the year isn’t the last month of the year at all.
“Decum,” in Latin, literally “cum decumo,” meaning tenfold.
The root origin of the word correctly assigns it to the tenth month. What we know as the twelfth month was originally the tenth month. The discrepancy is also present for September, October, and November, which means “seven,” “eight,” and “nine,” even though they are our ninth, tenth, and eleventh months.
It’s enough to make our heads hurt if we ponder the complexities for too long.
Most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, and its use is internationally accepted. The Julian calendar preceded the Gregorian calendar, and the Roman calendar preceded the Julian calendar, which is why Roman influences are still present in the calendar today.
The months of January and March honor ancient Roman gods. Janus is the god of transitions, beginning, and time, which makes sense about why we look to January as a time of new beginnings. Mars, the god of war, is also an agricultural god. Many of his festivals were in March, which is the time many people prepare for planting crops and flowers.
Political rulers could change the calendar, and some did, which is how the months got mixed up. July honors Julius Caesar, and August honors Augustus, who each wanted his own month. It is unclear how all the changes to the calendar came into effect.
December is the month know as National Egg Nog Month, National Fruitcake Month, National Maple Syrup Month, National Cookie Month, and National Cocoa Month. December is also the month of many international days:
- Persons with disabilities day
- Volunteer day
- Anti-corruption day
- Aviation day
- Human rights day
- Human solidarity day
Holidays hosted in December are Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza.
December is known for so many different activities, days, and holidays, that there are too many to name. Note: No offense is intended in any omission of the overview.
In North America, the Winter Solstice happens. For most of the month, the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere are at the furthest point from the sun and lose about 2 minutes of daylight each day. After the Winter Solstice, days begin to get longer by about 2 minutes each day. December is the equivalent of June in the southern hemisphere.
The month filled with hustle and bustle has an interesting history.
December was initially the 10th month, but that changed around 700 BCE when King Numa Pompilius added January and February to the calendar, thereby mixing up the positions of the months in the last quarter of the year. December became the twelfth month, and the calendar more accurately reflected the length of a year on Earth.
The Gregorian Calendar in use today was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1592. It spaced leap years so that an average year is 365.2425 days approximating the Earth’s revolution around the sun.
So from Kings and Emperors to a Pope, how could the calendar not be so mixed up?
Now that we understand the history of December let’s have some fun with the calendar. The calendar is already mixed up, so let’s mix it up a little bit more.
You are a political ruler who can decide to change the calendar.
What changes will you make and why?