January is the
first month of the
year in the
Gregorian Calendar 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, the
Roman god of
doors and gateways.
The original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months (304 days). The Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. Circa 700 BCE
Romulus' successor, King
Numa Pompilius, added the months of January and
February allowing the calendar to equal a standard lunar year (354 days). A Roman
superstition against even numbers resulted in the addition of one day thus equalling 355 days. Although
March was originally the first month, January usurped that position because that was when
consuls were usually chosen.
The first day of the month is known as
New Year's Day.
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). In
old Japanese calendar, the month is called
Mutsuki (睦月). The second day of the month is known as
Hatsuyume (初夢) and the 7th day as
Nanakusa (七草). In
Finnish, the month is called
tammikuu, meaning "month of the oak".
The first
Monday in January is known as
Handsel Monday in
Scotland and northern
England. In England, the agricultural year began with
Plough Sunday on the
Sunday after
Epiphany.
The
Coming of age day in
Japan is the second Monday of January, for those becoming 20 years old in the new calendar year. It is a national holiday. The day has existed since 1948, but fell on
January 15 until 1999, when it was moved by the Japanese government in an attempt to lift the economy by making more holidays consecutive.
In the
pagan wheel of the year, January ends at or near to
Imbolc in the northern hemisphere and
Lughnasadh in the southern hemisphere.
See also
Category:Months
af:Januarie
ang:Se ćfterra Géola
ar:يناير
an:Chinero
ast:Xineru
bg:Януари
be:Студзень
ca:Gener
cs:Leden
cy:Ionawr
da:Januar
de:Januar
et:Jaanuar
el:Ιανουάριος
es:Enero
eo:Januaro
fr:Janvier
fur:Zenâr
fy:Jannewaris
ga:Eanáir
gl:Xaneiro
ko:1월
hr:Siječanj
io:Januaro
id:Januari
ie:Januar
is:Janúar
it:Gennaio
he:ינואר
jv:Januari
ka:იანვარი
csb:Stëcznik
la:Ianuarius
lt:Sausis
lb:Januar
li:Jannewarie
hu:Január
nl:Januari
ja:1月
no:Januar
oc:Geničr
pl:Styczeń
pt:Janeiro
ro:Ianuarie
ru:Январь
sq:Janar
simple:January
sk:Január
sl:Januar
sr:Јануар
su:Januari
fi:Tammikuu
sv:Januari
th:มกราคม
tl:Enero
tt:Ğínwar
vi:Tháng một
tr:Ocak
uk:Січень
ur:جنوری
vo:Yanul
wa:Djanvî
zh:1月