Skip to main content

Origin of the Names of the Months

  1. January is named after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions.
  2. February is named after the Roman god Februus, the god of purification and the underworld.
  3. March is named after the Roman god Mars, the god of war and also the agricultural guardian.
  4. April seems to be derived from aperire, which means “to open”, probably since the buds opened in this month. However, it may also have come from the name of the goddess Aphrodite (Aphrusor Apru as in Etruscan), the Greek equivalent of Venus.
  5. May is named after Maiesta, the Roman goddess of honor and reverence.
  6. June is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth, the protector of the state, watcher of women, and the queen of the gods.
  7. July is named after Julius Caesar as he was born in this month. Earlier, it was called Quintilis, meaning “fifth”, since it was the fifth month in an earlier 10-month calendar that began with March as the first month.
  8. August is named after the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. Earlier, it was called Sextilis, meaning “sixth”.
  9. September comes from septem, "seven".
  10. October comes from octo, "eight"
  11. November comes from novem, "nine".
  12. December comes from decem, "ten".



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Placebo and the Philosophy of Mind and Matter in Drug Research

A placebo is a non-therapeutic substance administered under the camouflage of medication to deceive patients into believing that they are receiving medications; this done solely for psychological and not for physiological effects. Placebo may usually be used to compare its effects with the effects of other drugs in drug research. Let's take the case of an experiment that tries to establish whether a particular drug, say to treat weariness, is genuine or merely has the effects of a placebo. Suppose 20 candidates are chosen for this experiment. 10 are given the drug and the rest are put on a placebo while they are told that the placebo is a genuine medication. They need to make sure that the deception is well carried on for the success of the experiment. If both the groups make similar improvements after taking the treatments, the new drug seems to only function as a placebo in effect. The basic hypothesis of the placebo raises the question of mind over matter. Of course, this pushes...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Water Baptism Necessary Before Partaking in Lord's Supper

"Last Supper" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1750) Yes, it is. Water baptism identifies one with the redemption work of Jesus Christ, with His death, burial, and resurrection. It is anticipated of visible identification with Christ and His Church. Every person has the personal responsibility to examine him/herself before deciding to partake in the Lord's Table. The Bible makes it clear that those who chose not to be baptized were rejecting the counsel of God (Lk.7:30). In a mixed congregation, it is not possible to always know who is worthy to partake of the Table; however, the minister must encourage only those who have been baptized for remission of sins (not just as a ritual but by faith in Jesus Christ) to partake of the Table. Before Jesus sat down to dip bread in the cup, He washed His disciples' feet. He makes the statement that they are already "washed" and only need feet to be washed. Of course, this may not explicitly/only refer to their baptism, fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reliability, Predictability, and Paul the Octopus

Paul the Octopus has recently become very famous after his predictions for Germany and Spain during the World Cup 2010 came right. The 100% accuracy tag distinguishes him from any other diviner who had attempted a prediction during the World Cup. There were responses and reactions from various people including sportsmen, statesmen, and mathematicians. Whatever, the use of Paul has demonstrated once again that mankind's search for an extra-temporal, psychic foresight has not quelled through the historical calendar returning a decade over this millennium. The question before us is can such predictions as those of Paul be counted on as reliable (in other words, can they be seriously taken as true)? The mathematicians have plumped for chance. It's all a matter of probability, they say ( BBC News ). However, the argument of chance in itself is weak. The mathematics of chance will calculate that the probability of Paul being right seven times out of seven is 1/128. But, the conclusi...
3 comments
Read more