What months of the year do you know? Perhaps even an ordinary high school student can answer this question, and, most likely, he will name them immediately in several languages, for example, in Russian, English and German. Have you ever wondered why these important components of the year have such names?
Section 1. Relevance of the issue
Months of the year… It would seem that it could be simpler: January, February, March, etc. In a matter of seconds, they can be listed both in direct and reverse order without any problems.
However, lately more and more people are interested in the etymology of words. Why? First of all, due to the fact that such knowledge helps to better trace the history and culture of both a single area and the whole country or nation. And to possess such knowledge is not only fashionable, but also very promising, because through the past, as you know, it is almost always possible to predict the further development of events in relation to the future.
Let's try to lift the veil of secrecy and find out what ancient Slavic names managed to enter the modern language and gain a foothold in it, as they say, for centuries.
Section 2. The struggle of two calendars
In general, according to scientists, the list of months of the year came to us from Ancient Rome. It was in that great country that the local sages developed a solar calendar, consisting of names that were directly related to the Roman gods, emperors and ordinary numbers. As a result, he was taken as a basis.
In general, there are different versions of how and for what reason the Roman calendar mainly supplanted the Old Slavic one, but the main one is still religious.
It is believed that the Orthodox Church so diligently sought to eradicate paganism, in the end it even affected the calendar. Since at that time Russia had close relations with Byzantium, the Roman calendar just came to our court.
In our modern day, the essence of the Roman calendar, which consisted of 12 months, has been preserved, the only difference, however, concerns the beginning of the year.
Their seasons were the same as now, and they were located in the same sequence, referring to the same season. But some changes did occur, although they should not be considered fundamental. The fact is that among the ancient Romans, March was the first of the year.
Section 3. Winter months of the year
December for the Romans was simply considered the "tenth", but the ancient Slavs called it jelly. Basically, it is clearwhy: as a rule, this month it became cold or icy, rivers froze, and movement due to low temperatures and heavy rainfall became almost impossible. The locals remained hostage to their own homes, and trade and wars all but came to a h alt.
How many months in a year, even a child knows, and even a toddler is able to remember the first one. Why? Because of the New Year celebration, of course.
January became January in honor of the two-faced god Janus, who was rightfully considered the god of all beginnings and connected the past and the future. He was also the guardian of entrances and exits to various rooms and to the afterlife. By the way, Janus is known as the patron of travelers and the brave keeper of the roads, he was revered by the Italian sailors, who believed that it was he who taught people to create the first ships.
In general, in the ancient Slavic calendar, January was called "cut". The word comes from the verb "cut", which meant to cut wood. As a rule, all preparations for construction and preparation of sown areas were carried out in winter. January also had a third name - “prosinets”, which meant “the appearance of a blue sky after a very long cloud cover.”
February comes from the Latin word Februa, literally meaning "feast of purification." It was during this month that the rite of purification was performed and atonement was made for sins. There is a version that the name of the month is associated with the god of the underworld named Februus.
In the Old Slavic version, February sounds like a fierce, that is, a month of frosts and snowstorms.
Section 4. Spring months of the year
March got its name in honor of Mars - the god of war. This deity was extremely revered by the Romans, and since military campaigns were usually planned along with warm spring days, this name arose.
In the ancient Slavic calendar, March was called "birch". The name is logically understandable, since it was at this time that the trees cut down in winter were burned for coal, mostly birches. According to some versions, March was also called “dry”, as it was time for the earth to dry out from the snow.
The history of the name of the month of April goes back to the Latin word Aprilis. As far as we know, in translation it means "disclosure". This is understandable, because it was at this time that the buds on the trees opened. But there is, by the way, an alternative version of the origin of the name from another Latin word apricus, which means warmed by the sun. True, you must admit, the essence of this almost does not change.
Our ancestors called April no less beautiful name, "pollen", as it was the month when everything around was blooming.
May was named after the goddess of spring named Maya. By the way, the Romans identified this goddess with the Italian goddess Maiesta, who is the patroness of the fertile land. Often in May, sacrifices were made to this goddess.
According to the Old Slavic calendar, May was called “grass”, that is, the month of active growth of herbs.
Section 5. "Summer, ah, summer…"
June was named after the goddess Juno, who was the wife of Jupiter. She was considered the patronesswomen. But there is a second opinion that this name is associated with the first consul of Ancient Rome named Junius Brutus.
The calendar of our ancestors called this month "worm". The name comes from the word worm. It's simple: this is the month of picking up pests in your gardens and orchards. In addition, in the southern regions, June is the time for cherry reddening.
July, most likely, was named after the famous Julius Caesar, in principle, it was he who started this whole calendar reform. Previously, this month was called "Quintilis" or "The Fifth".
The ancient Slavs called the month "linden", since the linden blossomed at that time.
August is named after Emperor Augustus, it was he who made his own amendments to the Roman calendar. Up to this point, the month was called "Sextilis" or "Sixth".
Section 6. September, October, November - it's time for autumn withering
Things are very simple with these months. The Romans did not invent new names for them, they simply correspond to their number in order. Although, they tried to give some nominal names earlier repeatedly. After all, many emperors wanted to immortalize their names in the calendar.
The months of the year like September, October, November respectively denote the Latin serial numbers: seventh, eighth, ninth.
The ancient Slavs called September the word "spring", because it was the month of the height of heather flowering. October was called leaf fall, as it was a time of yellowing and falling leaves. November was also called "breast" because offrozen ruts on the road.
