January

Our month January is named after Janus, a word allied to Janua--a door--in Latin, the god of the opening year, who presided over the commencement of every undertaking; he was a Roman god, unknown to the Greeks. It was not until the eighteenth century that January was universally adopted as the first of the year, although the Romans had observed it from the time of their second king, Numa Pompilius, whose reign terminated 672 B. C. The civil year of Christian countries corresponded to the ancient Jewish year, which opened with the 25th of March. In England, it was not until 1752 that the 1st of January became the legal first day of the year; before that time, it was customary to express dates between the 1st of January and the 25th of March thus, January 30, 1648-9, meaning that according to popular calculation it was the year 1649, but that legally it was 1648. In Scotland the change was adopted by James VI. in 1600. It was adopted in France in 1564; in Holland, Protestant Germany, and Russia, 1700, and in Sweden in 1753. The Church, or Ecclesiastical, year begins with the First Sunday in Advent, which is counted back from the date of Easter Sunday for the same year. (For finding that date see "Golden Number.") It has been suggested, that, as the seasons divide the year into four quarters, it would be well to begin them at the four solstitial points, viz.: Winter, with the Winter Solstice, December 21st; Spring, with the Vernal Equinox, March 21st; Summer, with the Summer Solstice, June 21st; and Autumn, with the Autumnal Equinox, September 22d. The riddle of the year is as ancient as the Greek anthology. "There is a father with twice six sons; these sons have thirty daughters apiece, partly colored, having one cheek white and the other black, who never see each other's face nor live above twenty-four hours." It will be observed that England was about the last country which accepted the modern mode of commencing the New Year. This fact is one of a thousand illustrations of the conservative character of the English mind--unapt to change, and satisfied that some hidden wisdom must lie concealed in a usage that has once been established.