Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Should We Rename the Months of the Year?

Should We Rename the Months of the Year?

May 17, 2023 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Pagan origins for names of months

Most people don’t know the origins of our names for the months.

Did you know that September, October, November, and December mean seven, eight, nine, and ten? Initially, there were ten months (initiated by Romulus around 738 BC); the last four were seven, eight, nine, and ten. March (Martius) was the first month, followed by Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. There were only 304 days in the Roman calendar: “The Romans seem to have ignored the remaining 61 days, which fell in the middle of winter” (see here).

January and February were added around 713 BC (see here).

January was named after the Roman god Janus and was the eleventh month.

February was originally the twelfth month and had only twenty-three days. Because the twelve-month calendar had fewer than 365 days, February eventually became twenty-eight days long. February was named for a time in the Roman year when sacrifices were offered for sins.i

March was named for Mars, the god of war.

April may have been named for the goddess Aphrodite.

May was named for Maia, the Greek goddess of nursing mothers and growth.

June (Junius) was named for the goddess Juno.

July was named for Julius Caesar, who, upon his death, was declared a god by the Roman government.

August was named after Augustus Caesar, who also was deified in death.

An extra month, Mercedonius (named after the paying of wages), was inserted every two or three years, in much the same way that we add a day every four years.

The Quakers were unwilling to use the names of the months due to the pagan origins of many of them. They just referred to them by number. Often the days were written with Arabic numerals and the months with Roman numerals, so the fifth day of the second month would be 5th ii or 5th 2nd month.

The current Israeli calendar, which dates back to AD 900, has these twelve months: Tishri, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, and Elul. One or two of those months were originally named for pagan gods.ii

Of course, 99% of people today have no idea that most of the first eight months are named after pagan deities.

I’m confident that when we’re in the kingdom, we will not use modern names for the months of the year or days of the week. Whatever we use will be God-honoring.

While the Bible does not tell us the new earth’s names for the months, it does tell us that there will be twelve (Rev 22:2).

I like using numbers for the months. While this will not catch on, I use it in my daily to-do list.

__________

i It is related to the Latin root for our word fever. The Spanish word for fever is fiebre.

ii Tammuz was named after the Babylonian god Tamuz. Cheshvan might be named after the Babylonian god Marchbena, which became Marcheshvan. See here.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

June 1, 2023

Don’t People Who Believe in “Once Saved, Always Saved” Promote Sinful Living?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and David Renfro are responding to the accusation that Free Grace Theology promotes sin and licentious...
June 1, 2023

What About Micaiah? (1 Kgs 22:1-28)

In any venture, everybody knows the name of the star. For example, Michael Jordan is considered by most basketball experts to be the greatest basketball...
May 31, 2023

Aren’t People Who Believe in Works Salvation Saved?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and David Renfro are answering why works systems will not and do not bring eternal salvation....

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Romans: Deliverance from Wrath $24.99 $15.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • The Epistle of James $15.00 $10.00
  • Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance $15.00 $10.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube