January was named after the Roman god Janus. Janus is also the Roman word for door. The god Janus had two faces which allowed him to look forwards into the coming year and backwards into the past year.
The original Roman calendar only had 10 months. January and February were not included, but were added later.
January in Other Languages
Chinese (Mandarin) - yiyuè
Danish - januar
Italian - gennaio
Latin - Ianuarius
French - janvier
Spanish - enero
Historical Names:
Roman: Januarius
Saxon: Giuli
Germanic: Schnee-mond (Snow month)
Interesting Facts about January
On average, it is the coldest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
It is the second month of winter.
In the Southern Hemisphere January is a summer month the equivalent of July.
Sometimes the Saxons called January the wolf month because hungry wolves would come into their towns searching for food this time of year.
For a long period of European history, the start of the New Year occurred in March.
Want to know what happened the year you were born? What famous celebrities or historical figures share the same birth year as you do? Are you really as old as that guy? Did that event really happen the year I was born? Click here for a list of years or to enter the year you were born.
