How did the month of January get its name?
Janus was the God of beginnings and endings, openings and closings – hence the word janitor, which actually means a doorkeeper, not a cleaner. Janus was always portrayed as having two faces, one looking forward, one backward. january is his month because it is the time when the Sun starts to return and the days grow longer; it was not the New Year in Roman times; the year began in March, which incidentally why September (seventh month) , October, November and December have the names they do.
