January facts

garnet, the birthstone of January

• January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar.
• January is one of 7 Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.
• January is, on average, the coldest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The month is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway.
• January's birthstone is the garnet.
• The Anglo-Saxons called January Wulf-monath (meaning wolf month).
• In Czech, January is called leden, meaning ice month.
• According to Theodor Mommsen, the first of January became the first day of the year in 153 BC.
• The first of January is Independence Day in Haiti.
• The third Monday of January is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.
• The birth flower of January is the Dianthus caryophyllus or Galanthus.
• Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.
• Edgar Allan Poe, was born on January 19, 1809.

Related articles

• February facts (factspage.blogspot.com)