Yay! It’s September, and nothing reminds us of the year coming to an end – and all the festivities involved! – than the first of the ember months. But how did September, named for the seventh month of the Roman calendar come to be the ninth month in our modern calendar, the Gregorian calendar?
From 7th Month to 9th Month, How?
This month was derived from the Latin word septem which means seven, marking it as the seventh month. But how so? Well, this was because in the Roman calendar, the year began in March and ended in December (back then, the Roman calendar year was only 10 months long). But with the later additions of January and February by the Roman King, Numa Pompilius at about 713 BC, and the calendar year now starting with January at about 450 BC, September was bumped from the seventh to the ninth.
September as the seventh month had a length of 30 days in the Roman calendar, and when it became the ninth month, was reduced to 29 days. But during the calendar reformation by Julius Caesar in 45 BC, he added one day to the month making it 30 days long once again.
Quick Facts
1. September has three birth flowers: the forget-me-not, the morning glory and the aster. Forget-me-nots represent love and memories, asters represent love as well, and the morning glory represents unrequited love. These are all very passionate flowers.
2. The birth stone for the month is the sapphire. The sapphire represents clarity of thought, intuition, and peacefulness. In traditional medicine, it is used to treat fevers and reduce inflammation and is also believed to reduce anxiety, procrastination and give its wearer luck.
See Also: August, The Month Whose Length Was Increased To Please an Emperor
