javasaurus: (wedding profile)
javasaurus ([personal profile] javasaurus) wrote2003-10-07 10:53 am

"The Twelve Months"

My Forgotten English day-by-day calendar included a bit of calendar history on Saturday, indicating that while much of Europe shifted their calendar by 11 days in 1582, but England refused to switch until 1751. At that time, they also changed the first day of the year from March 1 to January 1. I knew that month names like October were named based on March's being the first month, and that the beginning of the year was based on the beginning of war season for the Romans (thus was March named after the god of war), but I didn't know that the convention was maintained in England all the way through the Renaissance and a bit more. I wonder how well it would play at fest?

The calendar also included the following poem by Geroge Ellis, which describes the months and seasons, starting with January:

Snowy, flowy, blowy,
Showery, flowery, bowery,
Hoppy, croppy, droppy,
Breezy, sneezy, freezy.


Happy 7th of Breezy to all of you!