Pr Ntr Kmt World Religious Calendar Pagan Holy Days

World Religious Calendar 172
Month: Horning
Roman information
a.d. VI Id. Feb.
6 days before the Ides of February
Month: Februa or Febrvarivs or Februarius
The a.d. VI Id. designation means ante diem or six “days before” the Ides (Full Moon) of the month.
When counting days, the Romans included both the start and end day (in modern Western culture, we
skip the start day). When the Romans switched to a solar calendar, they continued to use the lunar day
names.
The Roman month of February is named for a feast of purification. Romans called February the
“Month of Purification”. During the festival of Lupercalia, priests would beat barren women with a
goatskin thong called a februa (“means of purification”) in the belief it would make them fertile.
February was originally given over the the infernal deities, making the purification feast essential as a
counterbalance to all the evil that could occur in the world. February had 28 days (an even number)
because of a Roman superstitious dread of even numbers. February eventually became sacred to Juno
Februra, the Roman Queen Goddess.
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, Ferbuary did not exist.
Numa Pompilius, the second of the seven traditional kings of Rome, added two more months, for a
12 month year. In Numa’s calendar, February was added to the end of the year (after December) and
had 28 days (or 23 days with an extra five intercalary days in some years). The extra five days at the end
of February were viewed as unlucky and not considered to be part of the normal year.
In some years, an intercalary month (Mensis Intercalaris) called Mercedinus or Mercedonius or
Intercalaris, was placed into February in order to bring the year into alignment. The intercalary month
followed February 23rd and then after the intercalary month, February resumed with February 24th.
Plutarch wrote “Numa … added an intercalary month, to follow February, consisting of twentty-two
days, and called by the Romans the month Mercedinus. This amendment, however, itself, in course of
time, came to need other amendments.” Some scholars claim that Intercalaris was added to the Roman
calendar in 452 BCE.
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), February was moved to
after January and had 28 days, except in leap years, when it had 29 days. The extra leap day was added
after February 23, rather than at the end of the month. 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.
Today totals 8 in modern Western numerology.
numerology
lunar information 2007
172 of 1413 7/14/08 9:29 AM