Musing About January

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The word January is derived from the name of Janus, a Roman god. Legend has it that the Romans named the first month of the year after Janus because he was considered the god of beginning and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look both backward and forward at the same time. Over the ages, Janus also became the ancient symbol for the new resolutions, particularly at the beginning of a new year. It is believed that in 700 B.C., it was the ruler Numa Pompilius who added January and February to the end of the Roman calender, which till then had only ten months. When it was added, Pompilius gave 30 days to January. However, Romans later made January the first month of the year. Moreover, in 46 B.C., the famour Roman general and stateman, Julius Caesar, added one more day to January and that is why January has 31 days today. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.