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Home , 45 BC, Agonalia, Arch of Janus, Janus, Numa Pompilius, Saturnalia

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January is the fi rst month in the modern, or Gre- cosmic deity, sky god, or god of water crossings. gorian, calendar and consists of 31 days. Th e name Discovering in the name the same root (Januarius in Latin) is derived from the two-faced as in the name of , the moon goddess, they Roman god Janus. Some scholars have claimed that even imagined him to be a moon deity. the derivation of the name Janus is from the Latin As the animistic spirit of doorways (ianuae) and ianua, meaning “door.” Others have explained the arches (iani), Janus guarded the numerous ceremo- name as the masculine form of Diana, which would nial gateways in . Th ese freestanding struc- be Dianus, or Ianus. tures were used especially for noteworthy entrances Th ere are many confl icting theories about Janus and exits on state occasions. , the and his role in the Roman religion. He apparently legendary second (roughly 715–672 fi gured prominently as the god of all beginnings. B.C.) probably dedicated the famous Ianus gemi- As the god of spatial beginnings, he watched over nus, the arcade or covered passage facing east and gates and doorways, which were generally under west which was located at the northeast end of the his protection; as the god of temporal beginnings, . A simple, rectangular, bronze edi- he presided over the fi rst hour of the day. Th e fi rst fi ce, it had double doors at each end that were tradi- day of the month and the fi rst month of the year tionally opened in time of war and closed in peace. were also sacred to him. Of all the gods, includ- Th is highly symbolic arcade, sometimes described ing , his name was invoked fi rst at the start simply as an arch, was undoubtedly connected of important undertakings, perhaps with the idea with a type of war magic, a superstitious belief that that his intervention as the “janitor” of all avenues passage through it brought luck to outgoing and would speed prayers directly to the immortals. As incoming armies. Th e Romans were so often at war, the deity of all beginnings, Janus was also entitled however, that it is said the doors of the structure Consivius or “sower,” in reference to his role as the were closed only twice during the seven centuries beginner, or originator, of agriculture. between the reigns of Numa and . Janus Th e worship of Janus existed as a local cult on was also honored by a less well-known archway, the Janiculan Hill (variously interpreted as “door located near the theater of Marcellus in the forum hill” or “city of Janus”) west of Rome, on the banks holitorium (where vegetables were sold). It was of the River. Traditionally, this cult went probably erected by the Roman general and consul back to and the period even before the Gaius Duilius, about 260 B.C., following his vic- actual founding of Rome in 753 B.C. In addition, tory over the Carthaginian fl eet off Mylae. a in honor of Janus, called the , Janus was closely connected with early Roman was celebrated on January 9. Th e offi ciating priest, coinage. He was represented as a deity with two in this case the who represented the faces on the ancient as, which often had on its ancient king in his role as head of the state religion, reverse side a representation of a ship’s s prow. An sacrifi ced a ram on the occasion. Later Romans, ancient source says that Roman boys liked to toss intrigued by the lofty character of this ceremony, these coins and bet capita aut navia (“heads or proposed various additional interpretations about ships”), in much the same way that today’s children the possible nature of Janus: perhaps he was a play “heads or tails.”

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Although Janus was usually depicted with two 170 years. Th us, at the brink of the modern , bearded faces looking in opposite directions, rep- January 1 reassumed its former place as the start of resenting the future and the past, the number of the new year. faces shown gradually increased to four. Emperor Among non-Roman peoples, the names of (A.D. 81–96), for example, dedicated a the months often stemmed from a natural phe- temple to Janus Quadrifrons, or “four-faced Janus.” nomenon or a seasonal occupation peculiar to the In his role as porter, or doorkeeper, the god was particular month. Such series of month-names sometimes pictured as holding a staff in his right have been found in all parts of the world with the hand and a key or keys in his left. As such, he was exception of South America and Australia. In west- termed Patulcius, meaning “opener,” and Clusius, ern Europe, for example, the Anglo-Saxons called or “closer.” In the late , he was por- January Wulf-monath in allusion to the hunger of trayed as both a bearded and unbearded fi gure; in the wolves, which made them bold enough at that place of the staff and keys, the fi ngers of his right time of year to leave the forests and enter the vil- hand sometimes showed the number CCC, or 300, lages in search of food. Th e name Aefter- was and those of his left LXV, or 65, for the total 365 also used to designate the month after the great days of the year. feast of . Charlemagne, the early medi- Th e earliest calendars, such as the Egyptian, eval Frankish emperor, appropriately called January Jewish, and Greek, did not place the beginning of Wintarmanoth, or “Wintermonth.” In ancient and the year in January. Th e early Romans originally modern times, particular stones have been con- began the calendar year with (see ), nected with the various months. Th e lucky gem and January did not even appear among their ten or birthstone often associated with January is the months. Numa Pompilius supposedly decreed that garnet, which symbolizes constancy. two new months should be added at the end of the ten previous ones. He called the fi rst of these additions Januarius in honor of Janus, the cult god January 1 of the doorways. In 153 B.C., the Roman state proclaimed January 1 to be New Year’s Day, thus turning the 11th month of Januarius into the fi rst New Year’s Day month of the year. For a long time, however, older traditions prevailed and most Romans still consid- ered the year to start in March. Moreover, by the end of the , the entire calendar had become highly inaccurate and confused, since state offi cials were constantly making changes in it for political purposes. In 46 B.C., instituted a much-needed calendar reform (see Appendix A: Th e Calendar). Th e resulting —now also known as the Old Style calen- dar—which became eff ective in 45 B.C., reinstated January as the fi rst month and January 1 as the fi rst day of the year. In later centuries, however, from the fall of the Roman Empire through the , there was widespread diversity as to the date on which the year began in diff erent areas. Contrib- uting to the diversity were political fragmentation, meager communications, and the hostility of the Catholic Church to pagan traditions. Experimen- Wikimedia Commons tation with a return to the January 1 new year of Th e in the Foro Boario, Rome. ancient Roman times was attempted as early as the 13th century in present-day Germany, and contin- So fundamental to everyday life are ways of marking ued sporadically throughout western Europe into the passage of time that most people feel their own the 16th century. Th e Gregorian, or New Style, calendar customs have been virtually ordained by calendar instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 nature (see Appendix A: Th e Calendar). Th e Gre- also employed this innovation, decreeing January gorian, or New Style, calendar now used through- 1 as the beginning of the new year for all Catholic out most of the world starts the year on January countries. By degrees Protestant countries fell into 1. Although that date has been recognized as New line as they adopted the new calendar over the next Year’s Day in more and more countries since the

2 American Book of Days January 1

“new” calendar was fi rst introduced in 1582, it is the Romans presented the king of the with actually a rather unnatural day for beginning the branches from the trees consecrated to Strenia, as year, since it has no special place in the sun’s cycle. tokens of good . Strenae also means “” January 1 is connected with neither the winter nor in Latin, and this semantic link captures the super- the summer , nor with the spring or autumn stition and expectancy with which most peoples equinox—four dates that do relate to the change have greeted the New Year. As with the Romans of the seasons and which historically related to sig- and Sabines, New Year’s festivities throughout the nifi cant festivities and religious rites. Th e ancient world still tend to be occasions for smoothing over Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians, for example, quarrels and reaffi rming human ties. began their year with the autumn equinox (on or In time, the Romans replaced with more elabo- about September 21 in the ), rate gifts the branches of bay and palm traditionally and the Greeks for many centuries used the winter gathered on the fi rst day of the year. During the solstice ( 21 or 22 in the Gregorian cal- days of the Roman Empire, courtiers and others endar). Other societies, such as the Chinese, base gave the emperor New Year’s presents of great value, the new year on the lunar cycle rather than the solar which enriched his personal coff ers and became a cycle. Chinese New Year, for example, takes place source of political corruption. Aware of the burden any time between January 21 and 19, that these traditional gifts placed on the people, inclusive, and always on the new moon. the Emperor issued a decree limiting the Th e United States inherited January 1 as the amounts to be given. In addition, the New Year’s beginning of the new year from the English and Feast of Janus was also marked by masquerades and other European settlers, who themselves came to public , not to mention the occa- embrace that date over the course of roughly two sional Roman orgy. thousand years. Th e ancient Romans, under a very After their conversion to Christianity in the old and inaccurate calendar, had originally taken fourth century, the Roman emperors continued for March (Martius) (see March) as the fi rst month of some time the pagan traditions of New Year’s. Th e the year. But in 153 B.C., the Roman state declared young church, however, increasingly condemned January 1 thenceforth to be New Year’s Day, turn- these observances as scandalous and forbade Chris- ing the 11th month, Januarius (see January), into tians to participate. Much of the struggle between a new fi rst month. In a pattern that would often the growing and the old pagan culture cen- be repeated, however, the common people remem- tered around such public observances. As it gained bered their old traditions and for a long time still strength, the church purposely planned Christian considered the year to end with the celebration of in competition with pagan ones. It estab- the on February 23, after which interca- lished Christmas on December 25 (then the winter lation (the insertion of a varying number of days) solstice) in counterpoint to the Mithraic rites and was made to off set errors in the calendar and so the Roman , for example. Following the complete the year. biblical account, the Feast of the Circumcision of By the end of the Roman republic, the calendar the infant then fell eight days later, on Janu- was once more highly confused, since offi cials had ary 1, competing conveniently with the Feast of tampered with it to cut short or extend magistrates’ Janus and New Year’s Day. Saint Ambrose declared, terms of offi ce. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar, as pon- “We fast on this day [Circumcision] that the hea- tifex maximus and dictator, instituted necessary then know we condemn their pleasures.” Even reforms. Under his new calendar, subsequently in modern times, some branches of the Christian named the Julian calendar (see Appendix A: Th e church celebrate January 1 as the Feast of the Cir- Calendar), January 1 was reinstituted as New Year’s cumcision or as the Solemnity of Mary. Day. Th e new calendar became eff ective the fol- Th e church remained strongly hostile to the lowing year, 45 B.C. old pagan New Year throughout the Middle Ages. Th e Romans traditionally celebrated the Feast of As a result, January 1 was weakened and its obser- Janus, the god of doorways and of beginnings who is vance as New Year’s Day may have disappeared depicted as looking both forward to the future and for some centuries in parts of Western Europe. backward to the past, on the fi rst of January. Th is Certainly, political fragmentation and poor com- deity was certainly suitable to the New Year, and to munications after the collapse of Rome encouraged begin the year auspiciously, the Romans off ered sac- diversity concerning the beginning of the calendar rifi ces to him. Th ey also exchanged greetings with year. Between the 9th and the late 11th centuries, kin and acquaintances and gave New Year’s gifts, Christmas gained wide acceptance as the date for called strenae, after Strenia, the goddess of strength. changing the year. Gradually, December 25 thus According to tradition, the custom of giving stre- replaced such earlier New Year dates as January 1, nae originated in the eighth century B.C., when the Franks’ March 1, and the late Roman Empire’s

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