January marks the start of the new year under the Gregorian calendar that we use today. But the calendar year did not always start in January.
The original ancient Roman 304-day calendar year began in March named after Mars the Roman God of War, as this signified the beginning of a new agricultural season. This version of the calendar only consisted of ten months spanning from March to December harvest.
In 45 BCE Julius Caesar created a new 365-day calendar which he named the Julian calendar after himself. This calendar began on January 1st named after Janus the Roman God of Beginnings.
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar modelled on the Julian calendar but tweaked to more accurately account for leap days and to ensure that all Christians celebrated Easter on the right day.
Come to the SRR and have a look at the Sellar and Goodhart classics collection to learn more about ancient Roman life and traditions!
