Measuring Time in Ancient Days the Seasons of the Year the Seasons of the Year Are Listed Below in Old English, Latin, and Then Modern English
Measuring Time In Ancient Days The Seasons of the Year The seasons of the year are listed below in Old English, Latin, and then modern English. Our ancestors divided the seasons in ways that are more logical than we do today, because in reality, spring does not wait for the vernal equinox, but begins long before, during Lent. And summer doesn’t begin in late June at the equinox — by then, we are already halfway through summer. The old way of marking the changing seasons was closer to what we actually experience. The Months (or Moons) Our ancestors began the new year in March (named for Mars, the god of war). They named the next five months April (Aphrodite), May (Maia), June (Juno), July (Julius Caesar), and August (Augustus Caesar) after gods or emperors. The next four months, they named for the number (in Latin) of that month: September (septem — the seventh month), October (octo — the eighth month), November (novem — the ninth month), and December (decem — the tenth month). January they named after the god Janus (who was depicted as look- ing both backwards and forwards). Finally, they named February after an ancient festival (februa) held on the 15th of that month. Lenten / Ver / Spring Haerfest / Autumus / Fall Candlemas falls on the 2nd of February. This is the Feast of the Purifi- August 1st was Lammas (‘Loaf Mass’), the Second Cross-Quarter Day, cation of Mary (she had completed the forty days required after child- which was the Feast of Saint Peter in Chains, commemorating St. Pe- birth to be considered ‘clean’ or ‘pure’ enough to enter the Temple), First Quarter Day ter’s deliverance from prison.
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