From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

January (pronunciation) (help·info) is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere.

History

January, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

January is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door (ianua) - January is the door to the year. Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, totalling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BCE, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (355 days). Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January became the first month of the calendar year either under Numa or under the Decemvirs about 450 BCE (Roman writers differ). In contrast, years in dates were identified by naming two consuls, who entered office on May 1 and March 15 before 153 BCE when they began to enter office on January 1.

Various Christian feast dates were used for the New Year in Europe during the Middle Ages, including March 25 and December 25. However, medieval calendars were still displayed in the Roman fashion of twelve columns from January to December. Beginning in the sixteenth century, European countries began officially making January 1 the start of the New Year once again — sometimes called Circumcision Style because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day from December 25.

Historical names for January include its original Roman designation, Ianuarius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month) and Charlemagne's designation Wintarmanoth (winter / cold month).

Other names

In Finnish, the month is called tammikuu, meaning month of the oak, but the original meaning was the month of the heart of winter, as tammi has initially meant axis or core. In Czech this month is called leden, meaning ice month In Ukrainian it is січень meaning cutting or slicing perhaps referring to the wind. According to Theodor Mommsen (The History of Rome, volume 4, The Revolution, ISBN 1-4353-4597-5, page 4), the 1st of January became the first day of the year in 600 (Roman Calendar), 153 BC, due disasters on the Lusitanian War. A Lusitanian chief called Punicus, invaded the Roman territory, defeated two Roman governors and slew their troops. The Romans resolve on sending a consul to Spain and, in order to accelerate the despatch of aid, "they even made the new consuls enter on office two monts and a half before the legal time" (15th of March).

Holidays in January

January, painting by Leandro Bassano

• New Year's Day – January 1
• Independence Day in Haiti - January 1
• Handsel Monday in Scotland and northern England – First Monday
• Three Wise Men Day in Latin America - January 6
• Russian and Ukrainian Christmas Eve, also known as Svyat Vechir - January 6
• Coptic Russian Orthodox Church Christmas – January 7
• Plough Sunday in Scotland and northern England – Sunday after January 6
• Coming of Age Day (成人の日, Seijin no hi ^?) in Japan – Second Monday
• National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States – January 11
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States – Third Monday
• Australia Day in Australia – January 26
• Republic Day in India – January 26
• Makara Sankranthi (Festival of Harvest) in India – January 14
• Auckland Anniversary in Auckland, New Zealand – Monday closest to January 29
• Burns night in Scotland - January 25
• The uniting of Moldavia and Wallachia under the same ruler in 1859, Romania - January 24

January symbols

The camellia, Japan's floral emblem of January

Snow in January

• January's birthstone is the garnet which represents constancy.
• Its birth flower is the Dianthus caryophyllus or Galanthus.^[1]
• The Chinese floral emblem of January is the Prunus mume.
• The Japanese floral emblem of January is the camellia.

References

1. ^ January Birth Flower

From Wikitravel

This article is a travel topic.

This is a calendar of events and festivals in the month of January.

• 1st: New Years Day (Gregorian calendar) - all night parties and celebrations including fireworks displays in cities and locations worldwide, but especially Western ones
• Late January or early February: Chinese New Year, celebrated in China, Singapore and anywhere where there are large concentrations of Chinese

Australia

• 26th: Australia Day in Australia - a public holiday commemorating the arrival of the convict First Fleet in 1788 and the establishment of both the city of Sydney and the colony of New South Wales. It is celebrated by community events in most suburbs and towns around Australia and in grand style in the city centres and Sydney (especially).
• Australia's largest country music festival is held in Tamworth, northern New South Wales

Canada

• 5th: Winter Light Fest, [1],Edmonton. This is an attempt at a world class festival of winter in Edmonton. It shall combine Ice on Whyte and a few other events, as well a bunch of new ones to create a winter fest to rival Quebec. It shall run until March.

Ethiopia

• January 19 (20 on Leap Year): Timkat Festival Christian celebration with reenactments of Baptism and dancing in Gondar

France

• 1st: The Paris Parade Festival, [2] in Paris

Italy

• Late January: Viareggio Carnival, [3] in Viareggio
• Late January and early February: Venice Carnival, [4] in Venice

Indonesia

• January 26, 2009 - Annular solar eclipse visible from Borneo, Jakarta, Sumatra.

South Africa

• 31 January to 3 February 2008: MPH Motoring Theatre [5] at the Cocal-Cola Dome [6] in Johannesburg with the guys from BBC's Top Gear show
• Mid January: Dusi Canoe Marathon, [7], in KwaZulu-Natal

South Korea

• Late January or early February: Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal), South Korea

Spain

• Epiphany day is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. National Bank holiday and the official end of the Christmas season in Spain.

Sweden

• Late January: Kiruna Snow Festival, [8] in Kiruna

Trinidad and Tobago

• Early January: Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, [9] in Port of Spain with smaller events throughout Trinidad and Tobago

United Kingdom

• Last Tuesday in January: Lerwick Up Helly Aa, [10] in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands. A fire festival celebrating the influence of the Vikings on Scotland, culminating in the burning of a Viking galley.

United States of America

• 3rd Monday in January: Martin Luther King Day
• Late January: Saint Paul Winter Carnival, [11] in Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Late January: North American International Auto Show, [12] in Detroit, Michigan

Vietnam

• Late January or early February: Vietnamese New Year (Tết), Vietnam

From LoveToKnow 1911

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

English

Etymology

Re-Latinized from Middle English Ieneuer < Old Norman French genever < Latin iānuārius (“‘(month) of Janus’”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European base *ei-, "to go".

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdʒænjʊəri/, SAMPA: /"dZ{nju@ri/ or as US
• (US) enPR: jănʹyo͞o-ĕr'ē, IPA: /ˈdʒænjuˌɛri/, SAMPA: /"dZ{nju%Eri/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

Proper noun

January (plural: Januarys or Januaries)

1. The first month of the Gregorian calendar, following the December of the previous year and preceding February. Abbreviation: Jan or Jan.

   01/01/09 : Thursday, January 1st, 2009.

Derived terms

Related terms

• Janus

Translations

From Familypedia

Template:JanuaryCalendar2010 January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.

January begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Capricorn and ends in the sign of Aquarius. Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Sagittarius and ends in the constellation of Capricornus.

January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, where the Latin word for door (ianua) comes from - January is the door to the year.

Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months, totalling 304 days, winter being considered a monthless period. Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (355 days). The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. Although March was originally the first month in the old Roman Calendar, January assumed that position beginning in 153 BC when the two consuls, for whom the years were named, began to be chosen on January 1. The reason for this shift of the new year into the dead of winter was to allow the new consuls to complete the elections and ceremonies upon becoming consuls, and still reach their respective consular armies by the start of the campaigning.

Various Christian feast dates were used for the New Year in Europe in the Middle Ages, including March 25 and December 25. However, medieval calendars were displayed in the Roman fashion of twelve columns from January to December. Beginning in the 16th century, European countries began officially making January 1 the start of the New Year once again — sometimes called Circumcision Style because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the 8th day from December 25.