How The Month December Got Its Name: Because it brings in the festive season for holidays such as Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas, the month of December may be one that most of us associate with celebrations and good cheer.
This is because it heralds in the holiday season. According to National Today, the month of December also includes a number of other odd days of observance, such as National Cookie Day (December 4), National Brownie Day (December 8), National Lemon Cupcake Day (December 15), Don’t Make Your Bed Day (December 21), and National Short Person Day (December 22).
All of these days are celebrated in the United States. However, there are several December customs that have been practiced for centuries, and these customs date back to ancient times.
For instance, the ancient Romans observed the festival of Saturnalia from the 17th to the 23rd of December. According to World History, during this time period, Romans took the opportunity to pay homage to Saturn, the god of agriculture.
The celebration lasted for a week and featured events like as parties, games, and the exchange of gifts all of which are ongoing traditions. It would appear that the tradition of celebrating during the month of December dates back quite a long time; but, whence did the month of December get its name?
How The Month December Got Its Name
According to Dictionary, the current month of December gets its name from the Latin word decem, which can be translated as “ten.” This is where we get the word “December.”
Why? According to the ancient Roman calendar, there were only ten months in a year, and the year would begin with the month of March.
After December, the months of January and February were finally appended to the conclusion of the calendar year. However, by the time the Julian calendar was founded in 45 BCE, January and February were already at the beginning of the year.
Because of this, all of the original months (and the names that were initially given to them) were moved back by two months.
In addition to having a fascinating past, the month of December is a solstice month. This means that in the Northern Hemisphere, December is the month that features the shortest day of the year.
The beginning of astronomical winter is considered to have occurred on the December solstice by the vast majority of astronomers, scientists, and scientists; however, meteorologists consider December 1 to be the beginning of winter.
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What are some of the more historic names for the month of December?
The names “rra Gola” and “Golmna,” both of which mean “yule month,” were in use prior to the adoption of December into Old English.
The term “yuletide” was used by the early Germanic people to refer to the winter season, which lasted for a total of two months and began in December and ended in January. “Christmas day” or “Christmastide” is what the term “Gel” refers to.
There is a connection between geel and the Old Norse word jul, which was the name of the pagan winter festival that lasted for 12 days.
The practice of lighting a yule log during the holiday season is one of the many traditions that can be traced back to the ancient festival of Yule, which is also known as the Winter Solstice.
An interesting tidbit is that the word “jolly” might have originated from the same Old Norse root that gave us the word “yule.”
