January, from Janus, was the sacred month of the year to the Romans. To
them, Janus was the god of the year. During the 18th century, the
Europeans started to recognize it as the first month, but previous to
this, March was considered the first.
February comes from februa, the name of a Roman festival celebrated on
the 15th of the second month.
March is from Mars, the god of war. March was the first month of the
year to the Romans.
April, from the Latin _aperire_, “to open,” was probably so called
because during this month buds begin to open.
May is from Maia, the mother of Mercury. The Romans offered sacrifices
to this goddess on the first day of May.
The sixth month in our calendar, June, got its name from Juno, the wife
of Jupiter.
July was so named in honor of Julius Cæsar, who was born in this month.
Emperor Augustus Cæsar commanded that the eighth month be named August
after him.
September is from the Latin septem, meaning seven. At the time when
March was the first month of the year, September was the seventh.
October, November, and December were originally the eighth, ninth and
tenth months. _Octo_, _novem_, and _decem_ are Latin numerals for
eighth, ninth, and tenth.