January

Januaury ~ The beginning of a New year. A time for looking forward and wishing for a good year ahead.

In the very earliest Roman calendars there were no months of January or February at all. The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and the new year started the year on 1 March. Later, the ancient Romans made January 1 the beginning of the year.  January was named after Janus, a Roman god. Janus, had two faces which look both backwards into the old year and forwards into the new one at the same time. In early times, the ancient Romans gave each other New Year's gifts of branches from sacred trees. In later years, they gave gold-covered nuts or coins imprinted with pictures of Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings.
 
January’s moon is known as the “Wolf Moon” because wolves came into the villages in search of food during the winter. There are several different names for January’s full moon, it's also referred to as the "Old Moon", the "Ice Moon" or the " Moon After Yule".


 January's Flower is the Carnation.

Carnations are members of the genus Dianthus and also called pinks. Carnation petals are edible and quite sweet. The flowers taste similar to spicy cloves. They can be added to salads or fruit pies. candied, pickled in vinegar and made into a syrup. For 400 years, well into the 18th century, carnations were used to flavour beer, ale, and wine, are still used to make the French liqueur Chartreuse. In England, Pinks were thought to be favorite flower of William the Conqueror, Edward III, Charles II, and George V. In 1907 Anna Jarvis chose a carnation as the emblem of Mother's Day because it was the favourite flower of her mother. This tradition is now observed in the United States and Canada on the second Sunday in May. Ann Jarvis chose the white carnation because she wanted to represent the purity of a mother's love.  A red carnation symbolizes appreciation and love for a living mother, and a white one for  the love and respect for a mother who has passed away.


Wishing you all a Happy New Year!