I have not been a fan of birthdays, but even if we want to, which calendar should we follow? Rarely anyone brings this up. Perhaps it’s not important. Allah SWT knows best. Why though celebrate Maulidur Rasul based on Hijrah Calendar, but our own birthdays (if we want to in the first place) based on Common Era/Masihiyah/Gregorian Calendar? The Vatican massacred cities and villages worldwide to impose the Gregorian Calendar? Why?… because they are pagans and not Christians.
Here are the months and their meanings:
- January: Janus (Roman god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings)
- February: Februus (Etruscan god of death) Februarius (mensis) (Latin for “month of purification (rituals)” it is said to be a Sabine word, the last month of ancient pre-450 BC Roman calendar). It is related to fever.
- March: Mars (Roman god of war)
- April: “Modern scholars associate the name with an ancient root meaning ‘other’, i.e the second month of a year beginning in March.”
- May: Maia Maiestas (Roman goddess)
- June: Juno (Roman goddess, wife of Jupiter)
- July: Julius Caesar (Roman dictator) (month was formerly named Quintilis, the fifth month of the calendar of Romulus)
- August: Augustus (first Roman emperor) (month was formerly named Sextilis, the sixth month of Romulus)
- September: septem (Latin for seven, the seventh month of Romulus)
- October: octo (Latin for eight, the eighth month of Romulus)
- November: novem (Latin for nine, the ninth month of Romulus)
- December: decem (Latin for ten, the tenth month of Romulus)
The days of the week are all pagan:
- Monday: Old English Mōnandæg (pronounced [mon.nan.dæg] or [mon.nan.dæj’), meaning “Day of the Moon”. This is likely based on a translation of the Latin name Dies Lunae (cf. Romance language versions of the name, e.g., French Lundi, Spanish, Lunes, Romanian Luni, Italian Lunedì). In North Germanic mythology, the moon is personified as a god; Máni.
- Tuesday: Old English Tiwesdæg (pronounced [ti.wes.dæg] or [ti.wes.dæj], meaning “Tyr’s day.” Tyr (in Old English, Tiw, Tew or Tiu) was a one-armed god associated with battle and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is based on Latin Dies Martis, “Day of Mars” (the Roman war god); compare: French Mardi, Spanish Martes, Romanian Marţi and Italian Martedì.
- Wednesday: Old English Wōdnesdæg (pronounced [woːd.nes.dæg] or [woːd.nes.dæj) meaning the day of the Germanic god Wodan (later known as Óðinn in among the North Germanic peoples), and a prominent god of the Anglo-Saxons (and other Germanic peoples) in England until about the seventh century. It is based on Latin Dies Mercurii, “Day of Mercury”; compare: French Mercredi, Spanish Miércoles, Romanian Miercuri and Italian Mercoledì. The connection between Mercury and Odin is more strained than the other syncretic connections. The usual explanation is that both Wodan and Mercury were considered psychopomps, or leaders of souls, in their respective mythologies. Also, in Norse mythology, Odin, like Mercury, is associated with poetic and musical inspiration. In German, the day is referred to as Mittwoch (mid week). Similarly in Finnish it is referred to as keskiviikko (keski = mid, viikko = week).
- Thursday: Old English Þūnresdæg (pronounced [θuːn.res.dæg] or [θuːn.res.dæj]), meaning the day of Þunor, commonly known in Modern English as Thor, the god of thunder in Norse Mythology and Germanic Paganism. It is based on the Latin Dies Iovis, “Day of Jupiter”; compare: French Jeudi, Spanish Jueves, Romanian Joi and Italian Giovedì. In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter was the chief god, who seized and maintained his power on the basis of his thunderbolt (Fulmen).
- Friday: Old English Frigedæg (pronounced [fri.je.dæg] or [fri.je.dæj]), meaning the day of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Frige, and is attesred among the North Germanic peoples as Frigg. It is based on the Latin Dies Veneris, “Day of Venus”; compare: French Vendredi, Spanish Viernes, Romanian Vineri and Italian Venerdì. Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty, love and sex.
- Saturday: the only day of the week to retain its Roman origin in English, named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo-Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg (pronounced [sæ.tur.nes.dæg] or [sæ.tur.nes.dæj]). In Latin it was Dies Saturni, “Day of Saturn”; compare: French Samedi. The Spanish and Portuguese Sábado, the Romanian Sâmbătă, and the Italian Sabato come from Sabbata Dies (Day of the Sabbath).
- Sunday: Old English Sunnandæg (pronounced [sun.nan.dæg] or [sun.nan.dæj), meaning “Day of the Sun”. This is a translation of the Latin phrase Dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the original pagan/sun associations of the day. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of “the Lord’s day” (based on Ecclesiastical Latin Dies Dominica). Compare: Spanish and Portuguese Domingo, French Dimanche, Romanian Duminică and Italian
Domenica. In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology the sun is personified as a goddess; Sunna/Sól.
The following video is not about the Mayan Calendar as you think,
but about calendars in general and very thought provoking!