January, the month of new beginnings

CAIRO – 3 January 2022: January 2022 has just started, but what is the secret behind naming the first month of the year that name?

By referring to the historical sources, it was found that the first month of the year was named after the Roman god Janos or Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions, because it is the month of beginning, i.e. the beginning of the year and the transition from one year to another.

Janus is the god of gates, entrances, transitions, roads, passages and exits in Roman mythology. This god has two faces, one looking to the future and one looking to the past.

Janus is the traditional deity of January and is considered the origin of its name. According to the Roman mythology, he is considered the decisive factor in conflicts, wars and peace.

As for the origin of the word, it was referred to by writers and historians Cicero, Ovid and Macrobius, who see the name as Latin in origin.

During ancient times there was a temple called Janus in France and it was dedicated by Gaius Doilius in 260 BC after the Battle of Millai at Holtorium.

The temple contained a statue of Janus showing the number 300 in his right hand and the number 65 in his left - that is the number of days of the solar year. It also contained twelve altars, one for each month.

The four-sided temple known as the Arch of Janus dates back to the first century of the Christian era and was built by Emperor Domitian. However, American scholars L. Ross Taylor confirmed that the temple was completed and inaugurated in AD 96.

The ancient people of Saxony called January the month of the wolf, Charlemagne called it the month of winter, and in the Japanese calendar it is called Mutsuki. Meanwhile, the Finnish call it Tamiko, which means the month of the oak.