Pr Ntr Kmt World Religious Calendar Pagan Holy Days

World Religious Calendar 1297
December is the tweflth month of the year.
Latin (Roman) name: December
December
The Roman month of December is named for decem, because it was originally the tenth month of the
Roman solar year. December was sacred to Vesta, the Roman Goddess of hearth, home, and family.
The earliest Roman months were lunar. According to Roman mythology, the ten month solar calendar
aligned to the vernal equinox was introduced by Romulus, the founder of Rome, around 753 BCE. In
Romulus’ calendar, December (the tenth month) had 30 days. Numa Pompilius, the second of the seven
traditional kings of Rome, added two more months, for a 12 month year. In Numa’s calendar, December
had 29 days. Gaius Julius Caesar, as Pontifex Maximus (supreme bridge-builder, a religious title),
reorganized the calendar on the first day of 45 BCE. In Caesar’s calendar (the Julian Calendar),
December had 31 days. Caesar’s calendar was calculated by Sosigenes, an Egyptian
astrologer/astronomer. In 8 BCE, Augustus Caesar fixed errors by pontiffs after Julius’ death and made
other minor modifications, resulting in the modern Western calendar. The modern Gregorian Calendar,
named for Roman Catholic Pope Gregory the Thirteenth, was a realignment in 1582.
Meaning of name: From Latin Decem, ten. The tenth month in the Roman calendar.
Flowers: poinsettia, holly, mistletoe.
Birthstone: turquoise and zircon.
Goddesses: Vesta, Hestia, Befana, Sekhmet, Astraea, Oya.
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