What months of the year do you know? Perhaps even an ordinary high school student can answer this question, and most likely, he will call them immediately in several languages, for example, in Russian, English and German. Have you ever wondered why these most 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 without problems, either in direct or in reverse order.
Recently, however, 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 a single locality, as well as the whole country or nationality. And to possess such knowledge is not only fashionable, but also very promising, since 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 open 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, it was taken as a basis.
In general, there are different versions of how and for what reason the Roman calendar predominantly replaced the Old Slavic, but the main one is still religious.
It is believed that the Orthodox Church so diligently sought to eradicate paganism, as a result, it even affected the calendar. Since at that time Russia had a close relationship with Byzantium, the Roman calendar just came to our court.
In our modern day, the essence of the Roman calendar, which totaled 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 arranged in the same sequence, referring to the same time of year. But some changes have nevertheless occurred, although they should not be considered fundamental. The fact is that the ancient Romans initially the first of the year was March.
Section 3. Winter months of the year
December was simply considered “tenth” for the Romans, but the
ancient Slavs called it jelly. In principle, it’s understandable why: as a rule, this month it became cold or cold, rivers froze, and movements due to low temperatures and heavy rainfall became almost impossible. Locals remained hostages of their own homes, and trade and war virtually stopped.
How many months a year, even a child knows, and even a baby is able to remember the first. Why? Because of the celebration of the New Year, of course.
January became January in honor of the two-faced god Janus, who was rightly considered the god of all undertakings and connected the past and the future. He was also the keeper of entrances and exits to various rooms and to the afterlife. By the way, Janus is known as the patron saint of travelers and a brave guardian of roads, he was revered by Italian sailors who believed that it was he who taught people how to create the first ships.
In general, in the Old Slavic calendar, January was called the "section". The word came from the verb "slash," which meant cutting down a forest. As a rule, all blanks 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 prolonged cloudiness”.
February comes from the Latin word Februa, which means literally "festival of purification." It was in this month that they performed a rite of purification and atoned 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 frost and snowstorms.
Section 4. Spring months of the year
March received such a name in honor of Mars - the god of war. This deity was highly revered by the Romans, and since military campaigns were usually planned along with the 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 felled in winter were burned for coal, mainly birch trees. According to some versions, March was also called “dry,” since it was time for the earth to dry out from 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 that the essence of this is almost unchanged.
Our ancestors called April no less beautiful name, “pollen”, as it was the month when everything around blossomed.
May was named after the spring goddess named Maya. By the way, the Romans identified this goddess with the Italian goddess Mayesta, who is the patroness of the fertile land. Often in May, this goddess was sacrificed.
According to the Old Slavic calendar, May was called as “grass ” , that is, a 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 patroness of women. 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 collecting insect pests in their gardens and gardens. In addition, in the southern regions it is June - the time of reddening of the cherry.
July was most likely named in honor of the famous Julius Caesar; in principle, it was he who started all this reform of the calendar. Earlier this month was called Quintilis or Fifth.
The ancient Slavs called the month “lime ” , since it was at this time that linden blossomed.
Augustus is named after the emperor Augustus, it was he who introduced his own amendments to the Roman calendar. Until that moment, the month was called Sextilis or Sixth.
Section 6. September, October, November - the time for autumn wilting
With these months, the situation is very simple. The Romans did not come up with new names for them, they simply correspond to their number in order. Although, they tried to give some nominal names repeatedly earlier. Indeed, many emperors wanted to perpetuate their names on the calendar.
Such months of the year as September, October, November, respectively, indicate the Latin serial numbers: seventh, eighth, ninth.
The ancient Slavs called September the word "heather", for it was the month of the height of heather bloom. October was called leaf fall, since it was a time of yellowing and falling of foliage. November was called the "chest " because of the frozen track on the road.