Caribou calendar
Inuit calendars have very charming names. January is siqinnaarut, the month when the sun returns; February is qangattaarjuk, referring to the sun getting higher and higher in the sky; March is avunniit, when premature baby seals are born: some make it, some free to death; April is natsijjat; the proper month for seal pups to be born May is tirigluit, when bearded seals are born; June is manniit, when the birds are laying eggs; July is saggaruunt, the sound of rushing water as the rivers start to run; August us akulliruut, when the summer has come and the caribou hair is neither too thin nor too thick but just right for making into clothing; October is ukialliruut, when the caribou antlers lose their covers; November is tusaqtuut, when the ice forms and people can travel to see other people and get news; December is taujualuk, a very dark month.
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Naranja said,
February 16, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
That’s really nice, I wish the English months had meanings like that, maybe they do and I just don’t know about it.
Dave said,
June 11, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
They do.
January: from the Roman God of Gates, Janus, since January is the ‘doorway’ into the new year. Represents new beginnings.
February: from the Etruscan god of Death, Februus. Lots of rituals used to be held in this month.
March: from the Roman God of War, Mars
April: from the Latin “Aprilis”, meaning ‘month of Venus’
May: from the Latin “Maia Maestas”, another Roman goddess
June: from the Roman Goddess Juno, Queen of the Gods (wife of Jupiter)
July: named after Julius Caesar, former emperor (well, dictator, really) of Rome
August: named after Augustus Caesar, the ‘first’ emperor of Rome
September, October, November and December are from the Latin words septem, octo, novem and decem – the numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10, respectively.
The reason why September is actually the ninth month (even though it means 7) is because they chucked in July and August in the middle of the year to honour Julius and Augustus Caesar – probably because that’s when the best weather is
Joan said,
October 11, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
Through the middle ages up until the mid 1700s the new year started with the coming of spring, so March was the 1st month. That makes September 7th month, October 8th month, November 9th month and December 10th month, with their names coming from Latin numerals. July and August are names that replaced the 5th and 6th months in the old calendar. They were not added in. Look up the history of Gregorian and Julian calendars for more details on the change in the starting date for a new year.