Every end of the year comes the same dissonance. December, etymologically the “tenth month”, nevertheless closes a sequence of twelve. The paradox is obvious, but few people know its origin. This discrepancy is not a simple detail forgotten by historical watchmakers. It is the reflection of a calendar system first shaped by agricultural and military rites, then distorted by political ambitions and collective inertia. This apparent discrepancy between name and position does not come from an error, but from an incomplete transformation of time itself.
March opened the year and December closed it… logically
Before being a winter month adorned with garlands, December marked the end of the year in the very first Roman calendar. Designed according to tradition by Romulus in the 8th century BCE, this almanac only consisted of ten months. It began in March, the month of Mars, god of war, and ended in December, the “tenth”. The names of the months reflected their rank. September for seven, October for eight, November for nine, December for ten.
Winter, considered a barren period, was not entitled to named months. The cold days stretched out in a statusless calendar void, a sort of silent truce between two cycles. This cutting was more ritual than astronomical precision. It corresponded to the needs of an agricultural and warlike society which was resuming its activities in the good times.
When power redefined time without renaming the months
Around 713 BCE, King Numa Pompilius undertook a reform. He adds two forgotten months: January, in honor of Janus, god of beginnings, and February, linked to purification rituals. The calendar then goes from ten to twelve months. But instead of renaming each month to reflect their new rank, authorities are keeping the existing names. December therefore remains… the tenth month, even if it is now the twelfth.
Forgetting becomes a habit. Julius Caesar, in profoundly reforming the calendar in the 1st century BC, did not touch the nomenclature either. It imposes a solar division of 365.25 days, divides the months according to a new logic, but leaves the names as they are. The IFLScience article recalls that in 46 BCE, to put the calendar back in line with the seasons, Caesar went so far as to impose a year of 445 days, but not a word about the fact that December was wrongly named.
Even the reform of Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, although intended to correct the growing discrepancy between calendar and seasons, did not call into question the order of the months. The priority is then to align Easter with the equinox, not to reestablish linguistic coherence. The disappearance of ten days in October that year marks a technical, but not symbolic, turning point.
The origin of the months testifies to an age-old cultural inertia
Over the centuries, emperors nevertheless tried to engrave their names in the marble of time. Julius Caesar gets his month, “July”, by renaming Quintilis (5). His successor Augustus did the same with Sextilis (6), now August. Others want to follow this path. Caligula wishes to rename September “Germanicus”, Domitian imagines “Domitianus” for October. These attempts fail in the face of the force of habits.
As The Indian Express explains, September-December names were already deeply ingrained in daily life. The calendar structuring the markets, festivals and seasons, modifying them would have disrupted a balance to which the populations had largely adapted. It was not a simple word to change, but a part of the culture to redefine.
Even today, we continue to use these names without asking any questions. This visible anomaly, known but tolerated, illustrates the power of traditions in the face of logic. The origin of the months thus acts as a mute witness to our relationship with time. Imperfect, modified by touches, never completely recast. If December remains the twelfth month despite its tenth name, it is not out of ignorance, but because changing the course of time often meets resistance from everyday life.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
