OUR TIES TO PAGAN
GODS
Today being the first day of Spring,
I wondered where the names of the seasons originated.
Apart from the fact that ‘Spring’
apparently signifies the time when the flowers ‘spring’
from the sprout, and ‘Fall’ better known
as Autumn simply means the time when leaves ‘fall’
to the ground, I couldn’t find anything really
interesting.
What I did stumble upon was the
origin of the names of the days. |
|
The days are all named after pagan gods.
Sunday: Saxon Sunnandeag.
Latin ‘dies solis’ after Helios, the God of
The Sun.
Monday: Saxon Monadaeg
after Mona, the god of the light ball in the night sky
and tidemaker.
Tuesday: Saxon Tiwesdaeg
after Tiw, the God of War
Wednesday: Saxon Wodnesdaeg
after Woden, King of the Gods
Thursday: Saxon Thuresdaeg
after Thor, The God of Thunder
Friday: Saxon Frigedaeg
after Freya the Goddess of Love
Saturday: Saxon Seternesdaeg
after Seterne the God of Agriculture.
Just as interesting are the names of the
months.
January through to June were all named after Roman gods
or rituals.
Janus - the God of Doorways, Februa - Pagan Festival of
Purification, Mars – the God of War, Apru –
Greek Goddess of fertility, Maia – Goddess of Earth
and Honor, and Juno – Queen of the Heavens and Gods.
July was named after Julius Caesar and
August after Augustus Caesar.
September to December are based a numerical
system.
The year began in March according to the original Roman
calendar, so September was month seven, October –
eight, November – nine and December month ten.
Kader Khan
Editor
info@yummie.co.za
