Show JANUARY tle the girst first in when and now how it became brie gike the lne firt of the vear fear it is v very ery appropriate that this should be the first month mouth of the year as far as the northern hemisphere is concerned since its beginning being near til the e winter solstice the year is thu to present a ar complete series teno of the sensational changes and operations including g equally the first movements of spring mp ring ning and the death of all annual vegetation in the frozen arms of winter yet the earliest calendars as the jewish the Egypt egyptian Ann uan and greek did not place the commencement of the year at this point it was not done till the formation of the roman calendar usually attributed to the second a king numa Pom rom Pompi ilus liua whose reign Is bet set down as terminating anno B C numa it is said having decreed that the year should commence now added two new months to the ten into which the year had previously been divided calling the first january in honor of janus the deity said to preside over doors latin jama fama a doore door who might very naturally be presumed also to have something to do with tle the the opening of the year although however there was a general popular regard to the of i january aubary as the beginning of 01 the year the ancient jewish year which opened with the of march continued long to have a legal position in christian countries in england it was not till 1752 that the of january became the initial da day of the legal as it had bad long been oyt of the he popular year before that time it was customary to set down dates between the of january and the of march inclusive thus january 80 30 1648 9 meaning that popularly the year was 1649 but legally legally 1648 in scotland thi this alsira desirable change was nade made by a decree of james VI in privy council in the year 1600 it was effected in france in 1564 1584 in holland protestant germany and russia in 1700 and in sweden in 1753 st joe archerald mo Aro Herald |