Re^3: Leap years? How does that work?

[talexb]

I thought the months started with January, because that month was named after the two-faced Roman god Janus, god of beginnings/endings and doors. (Janitor comes from Janus, for example.) There were ten months, finishing with December, the tenth month (the year's last four months are September, October, November, December -- months 7, 8, 9, and 10). Then Julius Caesar added two months in the summer, named after himself (Julius Augustus Caesar, hence July and August) to get to twelve months.

[LanX]

Various emperors renamed months after themselves, not all renames persisted. But they didn't include new ones.

The Roman Senate changed the beginning of the legislative year at some point to January 1, long before the republic was gone.

But this doesn't mean it was consistent ever after in medieval Europe even inside what we call Germany now.

This was only changed from the 16th century on. see New_Year#Adoptions_of_January_1

I've been sometimes confronted with the church-year of the Catholic Church which starts with the first advent.

I really also like the Ottoman calendar depicted page here with all the various details for all ethnicity.

Reminds me of a Turkish friend who was so annoyed about the red-tape he faced when studying in the UK, that he told the authorities that is father was born 1337.

[soonix]

It seems they started out with 10 (probably lunar) months, starting with March. The period which would later be January and February, probably was more or less dedicated to hibernation ;-)

The first four months had proper names, the other six were numbered. Later, January and February were added. Long after the year start was shifted to January, Cesar occupied the first of the (now wrongly) numbered months (5th = Quintilis became Iulius).