November derives from the Latin root novem- meaning “nine.” Why you ask? Because in the Roman calendar there were only 10 months
in the year. November was the ninth month. So why were January and February added you ask?
A quick reference to wikapedia states:
"when the Romans used a 10 month calendar, they still had a kind of 2 month gap (at the time 50 days), which eventually came to be known as January and February (Janus and Februa) or the winter season.
The eventual goal in all the calendar making then and to this day, was to have a calendar that stayed in sync with the seasons. But in those days, with only the marking of number of days, and hourglasses, exact timing of a year was not going to happen. It took almost a thousand years for the Julian calendar errors to be found and another 500 before it was corrected.
They tried different number of days per year, 354, 355, 365, and the last of 365.25 days.
Today we know the Tropical Solar year is 365.24219 days. The current Gregorian calendar is quite accurate, being off only 11 seconds in 400 years, and no additional changes would be needed for at lest a couple millennia."
The November Conundrum • 8" x 8" gouache framed to 12" x12" • $250
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