January

January

January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days.

The first day of the month is known as

New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most

of the Northern Hemisphere and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July

in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa.

Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consisted of 10 months totaling 304 days, winter being considered a month-less period.

Around 713 BC, the semi-mythical successor of Romulus, King Numa Pompilius, is supposed to have added the months of January and February, so that the calendar covered a standard lunar year (354 days). March was originally the first

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 Slovene, it is January traditionally called prosinec. The name, associated with millet (česky proso) bread and the act of asking for something,(česky prosit) was first written in 1466.

The Czech term is leden related to Ice.

First months of the year named after the Roman god Janus. Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames,

and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. 

Etymologie

The name of the god Iānus, meaning in Latin 'arched passage, doorway', stems from Proto-Italic *iānu ('door'), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ieh₂nu ('passage'). It is cognate with Sanskrit yāti ('to go, travel'), Lithuanian jóti ('to go, ride'), Irish áth ('ford') or Serbo-Croatian jàhati ('to ride').[5][6]

Iānus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *yā- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eō, ειμι.[7] Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-.[8]

From Ianus derived ianua ("door"),[9] and hence the English word "janitor" (Latin, ianitor). (klíčník)

God of change

Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future,

from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young people's growth to adulthood.

He represented time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other.

Hence, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as at marriages,

deaths and other beginnings. He represented the middle ground between barbarism and civilization,

rural and urban space, youth and adulthood.

In general, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven: 

Janus and Jana (Diana -goddess of wilderness, hunters, fertility, Moon ) are a pair of divinities, worshipped as Apollo or the sun and moon

Interesting January facts

Veganuary is a crowdfunded campaign to issue a challenge each January promoting eating vegan for the month.

Since the event began in 2014, participation has increased each year.

400,000 people signed up to the 2020 campaign. 

Dry January is a campaign delivered by Alcohol Change UK where people sign up to abstain from alcohol for the month of January.

Dry January has official partners in Switzerland, Germany, Norway, France and the US.

In some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Canada, Dry February (or Dry Feb) is campaigned instead. The Finnish Government had launched a campaign called "Sober January" in 1942 as part of its war effort.

• December 25 – January 5: Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

• December 31 – January 1, in some cases until January 2: Hogmanay (Scotland)

1st January 

Restoration day of the independent Czech republic

EURO Day - The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999, although it had been a goal of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since the 1960.

The currency was formed virtually in 1999; notes and coins began to circulate in 2002. 

6th January - Three wise men day

• Christmas day (Ukraine, Russia, Bosna Herzegovina - Julian calendar eastern orthodox church)

26th January - Australia day

Zodiac

the zodiac is divided into twelve signs. The zodiac was in use by the Roman era, based on concepts inherited by Hellenistic astronomy from Babylonian astronomy.

January is connected with  Capricorn, Aquarius,

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