ORIGIN OF THE MONTHS' NAMES.
"JANUARY was named after the Roman god Janus, the deity with two faces, one looking into the past and the other gazing forward to the future," writes Clifford Howard in the Ladies' Home Journal. "February comes from the Latin word februo, to purify. It was customary for the Romans to observe festivals of purification during that month. March owes its name to the old god of war. Among the Saxons this month was known as 'Lenct,' meaning spring; and this is the origin of our11word 'Lent.' April was named from the Latin aperio, to open, in signification of the opening of flowers. The Saxons called the month Easter, in honor of their goddess of spring, from which comes our word Easter. May was named after the Roman goddess Maia, and June was so-called in honor of Juno. July was named in honor of Julius Cæsar, and August gets its name from Augustus Cæsar, September is from the Latin septem, seven, this being the seventh month according to the old Roman calendar, October, November and December also retain the names by which they were known under the old calendar, when there were but ten months in the year—octo, novem, decem, meaning eight, nine and ten."