January 6, 2020

The month of January marks the beginning of every new year on the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, January is the first full month of winter, and it is typically one of the coldest months of the year. (In the Southern Hemisphere, January is known for warm temperatures during the first full month of summer.) Because of its harsh weather, January in the Northern Hemisphere has long been a time of hard outdoor living for people and animals. In North America, some Native Americans referred to the time of year as “wolf moon” because hungry wolves could be heard prowling near their villages. Similarly, the Anglo-Saxons of Great Britain called the first weeks of winter Wulf-monath (Wolfmonth) because wolves came into villages in search of food.

The month of January is associated with harsh outdoor living–and wolves–in the Northern Hemisphere. Native Americans and Anglo-Saxons both named the time of year for the hungry wolves they encountered. Credit: © Shutterstock

Cold and wolf-infested January is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings. According to Roman legend, the ruler Numa Pompilius added January and February to the end of the 10-month Roman calendar in about 700 B.C. He gave the month 30 days. Later, the Romans made January the first month of the year. In 46 B.C., the Roman statesman Julius Caesar added a day to January, making it 31 days long.

January may be dreary, but the month’s holidays can brighten the mood.  January 1 is celebrated as New Year’s Day in most countries. Most Christian churches celebrate Epiphany on January 6, the 12th day after Christmas. The holiday commemorates the arrival of the wise men from the East bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In Latin America, this day is celebrated as Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day). Children receive gifts on this day, supposedly from the wise men—the magi, or magos. In Sweden, St. Canute’s Day (also spelled Cnut or Knut), is celebrated on January 13. This holiday marks the end of the Christmas season. In Norway, a similar holiday is called Tyvendedagen (Twentieth Day), because it falls on the twentieth day after Christmas. Many Hindus celebrate a harvest festival called Makara Sankranti or Pongal in mid-January. During this holiday, many people bathe in the sacred Ganges River. They give alms (charity), eat newly harvested rice, and eat sweets to symbolize the wish for sweet words throughout the year. In the United States, the third Monday of January is a federal holiday in honor of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday falls on January 15. In Australia, people celebrate Australia Day on January 26.  The holiday commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet, the ships that brought the first immigrants to Australia in 1788.

January 4, 2019

Is your birthday in January? If it is, do you know your birthstone—the gem associated with the month of your birth? For January, it is the garnet, a reddish-brown gem that is part of a group of hard, glassy minerals. Garnets were one of the most popular decorative gems of ancient Rome, and were often inlaid in gold bracelets, earrings, and other ornamental items.

January’s birthstone is the garnet, a hard, glassy mineral that is sometimes used in making jewelry. Credit: © Luca 85/Shutterstock

According to tradition, a birthstone brings good luck to a person born in its month. Each birthstone also corresponds to a sign of the zodiac. The belief in birthstones may have come from a Bible story about Aaron, the first high priest of the Israelites. The story describes Aaron’s breastplate, which was decorated with 12 precious stones. Early writers linked these stones with the 12 months of the year and the 12 signs of the zodiac. The custom of wearing a stone that represented a person’s zodiac sign probably originated in Germany or Poland in the 1700′s.

Garnets include six major types of silicate minerals: almandine, andradite, grossularite, pyrope, spessartite, and uvarovite. Garnets are composed of silica and such elements as aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese. They range in color from red, brown, and black to various shades of yellow and green. Crystals of garnet are found in all types of rock, but chiefly in metamorphic varieties.

Some garnet crystals are used in making jewelry. Red garnet, a gem-quality garnet, commonly includes a mixture of almandine and pyrope. Garnets are also used as abrasives for grinding and polishing. Garnets are found throughout the world. Those of gem quality are mined chiefly in central Europe, Russia, and South Africa.