Januar

Januar, frae the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

Januar is tha first month o tha yeir in tha Gregorian calendar, an ane o sievin Gregorian months wi 31 days.

Januar is named eftir Janus, Roman god o durs an yetts.

Januar begins (astrologicalie) wi tha sun in tha syn o Capricorn an ends in tha syn o Aquarius. Frae an astrologie pynt o view, tha sun begins in tha starnhoard o Sagittarius an ends in tha starnhoard o Capricornus.

The oreiginal Roman calendar wis makkit o 10 month (304 days). The Romans first hid thocht aboot winter as bein a monthless tyd. Bit aboot 700 BC Romulus' eftirganger, King Numa Pompilius, eikit the months o Januar an Februar allouin the calendar ti be e'en wi a staundart moon towmond (354 days). A Roman fowkbeleif agin e'en nummers led til the eikin o ane day sicweys makin the yeir 355 days lang. Tho Mairch wis oreiginalie the first month, Januar usurp'd that poseition acause 'at wis whan consuls wis uisualie waled.

The first day o the month is kent as "Ne'er's Day".

Names for Januar o auld lang syn include its oreiginal Roman ane Ianuarius, the Saxon name Wulf-monath (meinin "wouf month") an Charlemagne's ain name for it: Wintarmanoth (meinin "winter / cald month"). In the auld Japanese calendar, the month is caa'd Mutsuki (睦月). The seicont day o the month is kent as Hatsuyume (初夢) an the 7t day as Nanakusa (七草). In Finnish, the month is caa'd tammikuu, meinin "month o the aik".

The first Monanday in Januar is kent as Handsel Monanday in Scotland an northren Ingland. In Ingland, the feildwark yeir began wi "Plou Sunday" on the Sunday cumin eftir Uphalyday.

The cumin o age day in Japan is the seicont Monanday o Januar, for thae becumin 20 yeir auld in the new calendar towmond. It is a landweid haliday. The day haes been aboot sin 1948, bit fell on Januar 15t til 1999, whan it wis muivit bi the Japanese govrenment in a mynt ti lift the economie bi makin mair holidays cum ane eftir the ither.

In the Haithen wheel o the yeir, Januar ends at or naur til Imbolc in the northren hemisphere an Lughnasadh in the soothren hemisphere.