April. A month of 30 days, the fourth month of the Julian and Gregorian calendars; the second in the Roman calendar.
Its etymology is commonly traced to the Latin aperire, "to open," as the season when the blossoms open their petals.
The Roman months, however, were named after divinities, and as April was sacred to Venus and the Festum Veneris
et Fortunae Virilis was celebrated on the first day, it is possible the month was originally Aphrilis, from Aphrodite -
the Greek name for Venus. To the Anglo-Saxon it was the month of Easter, the pagan Saxon goddess of Spring, from
which name is derived the modern Easter. April Fools' day as we know it seems to have originated at the time of the
adoption of the Gregorian calendar. Prior thereto the celebration of the New Year began on March 25th, and ended
April 1st with the general distribution of gifts. With the change of the New Year to January 1st, those who objected
thereto made ostentatious presentations of mock gifts to those who under the influence of the church had advocated the
adoption of the Gregorian reform.
May. A month of 31 days, the fifth of the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of the Roman calendar. It is said to
have been named in honor of the goddess Maia, daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury and Jupiter, to whom
sacrifices were offered on the first day of this month. Probably, however, it was named in honor of the majors of the
government - the senators; June honoring the juniors, or members of the lower house. The month was regarded a
unlucky for marriages, owing to the celebration of the Lemuria, the festival of the unhappy dead, held on the 9th, 11th,
and 13th. This is reflected in a proverb of unidentified origin - "Marry in May, you'll rue the day." May day, a people's
holiday on which to go "a-Maying" in the woods, goes back to medieval and Tudor England. A huge maypole of cedar
erected under the supervision of James II was taken down in 1717, and used by Sir Isaac Newton, as part of the
support of a large telescope presented to the Royal Society by a French astronomer.
June. A month of 30 days, the sixth in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the fourth in the Roman calendar. Ovid
makes Juno state that the month was named in her honor, but elsewhere he contradicts this origin. Probably June was
named after the junior assemblage of the government, and May after the senior assemblage of the Senate. Prior to the
Julian reform of the calendar it had 29 days. To the Anglo-Saxons it was the "dry" month.
July. A month of 31 days, the seventh in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the fifth in the Roman calendar.
Originally called Quintilius, it was renamed by Mark Antony in honor of Julius Caesar, who was born in that month.
Among the Anglo-Saxons it was known as "hay month," as the meadows were then in bloom. Dog days begin on July
30th, and St. Swithin's Day falls on July 15th.
August. A month of 31 days, the eighth in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the sixth in the Roman calendar.
Originally known as Sextilis, it was renamed by direction of Augustus Caesar, who refusing to be honored by a month
of smaller size than that which in honor of Julius Caesar had been named July, ordered it increased to 31 days, taking
the extra day from February. In Gallia and remote parts of the Empire it was known as Aust, meaning harvest.
September. A month of 30 days, the ninth in the Julian and Gregorian calendars; the seventh in the Roman calendar.
The Ludi Magni, in honor of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, was celebrated by the Romans on September 4th. In
Charlemagne's calendar it was called the "harvest month," corresponding partly to the Fructidor and partly to the
Vendemiaire of the First French Republic. The Anglo-Saxons called it the gerstmonath, or barley month, as the crop
was usually harvested in this month. In Switzerland it is still known as the Herbstmonat.
October. A month of 31 days, the tenth in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the eighth in the Roman calendar. The
Equiria, when the Equus October was sacrificed to Mars in the Campus Martius, was celebrated on October 15th.
Successive attempts were made to rename it Germanicus, Antoninus, Tacitus and Herculeus, but all failed, as did the
effort of the Roman Senate to christen it Faustinus in honor of Faustina, wife of Antoninus. The Slavs called it "yellow