RESTORING A PEOPLE, REBUILDING A NATION
NEW YEARS
Janus is considered as the god of Beginnings so this is why his name was chosen for the first month of their year, his representation resided over all that is double-edged in life and represented transitions. Janus was chosen because he had two faces that looked backward and forward at the same time, one face to look towards the New Year and the other to look towards the past. Most often he is shown with beards on both faces and frequently holds a key in his right hand. The Ancient Romans would call this month Ianuarius, which is not so far removed from the modern day word "January", January comes from the Etruscan word Jauna which means "doors". The Romans dedicated temples to Janus which became most popular. The well-known one was called Ianus Geminus, one door face the rising of the sun and the other the setting of the sun. The gates had a symbolic meaning, when the gates were open it ment that there was peace in Rome, but when the gates were closed it ment Rome was at war. Janus was so respected by the Romans as a god his image could be found on nearly anything. There were many temples that where dedicated to him but another temple that stood out was the one built in his honor on the Forum Nerva, which had four portals known as Ianus Quadrifons.
After William the Conqueror (AKA “William the Bastard” and “William of Normandy”) became King of England on December 25, 1066, he decreed that the English return to the date established by the Roman pagans, January 1. Then, about five hundred years later, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII (AKA “Ugo Boncompagni”, 1502-1585) abandoned the traditional Julian calendar, however there was a slight inaccuracy in the Julian measurement, this slight inaccuracy caused the Julian calendar to slip behind the seasons about one day per century. Pope Gregory made the correction by advancing the calendar 10 days. This move ensured that the first day of the month of Janus would be January 1 in the Gregorian calendar.
New Years/ January 1st
Ever wonder were man's popular holiday New Year's came from? Here is a little history on its roots and how it came about. The first of January/New Years, was created by the Romans in 46 B.C.E. by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. Caesar celebrated the first New Year by ordering the violent routing of revolutionary Jewish forces in the Galilee. Eyewitnesses say blood flowed in the streets. In later years, Roman pagans observed the New Year by engaging in drunken orgies—a ritual they believed constituted a personal re-enacting of the chaotic world that existed before the cosmos was ordered by the gods. The Romans considered this day to be dedicated to their god of Gates and Doors, Janus.