TODAY - January 1

 

NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

ON: JANUARY 1

New 2021 edition

TODAY’s LENGTH:

This day is herein Belgium 6 minutes longer than Dec. 21. Its length is 8 hours and 3 minutes – from 08.44 to 16.48.

See more – also in English – about where you are on:  www.dagenslaengde.dk

TODAY’s NAME:

Today is called – as most people know – NEW YEAR’s DAY. It is also called JESU DAY, because it was today – 8 days after his birth – that Jesus was circumcised in the Temple.

A couple of old Danish weather warnings are also attached to this day:

·       If the sun is shining, it will be a very fertile year. If it only shines for as long as it takes to saddle a horse the harvest will still be acceptable

·       If the sky is red at sunrise you will have bad weather most of the year

 

This day is also one of the 32 so-called Tycho Brahe Days. They are days, which the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe in the 17^th century based on his calculations appointed as particular unfortunate.  What old nonsense L 

The name of the day in Belgium is the same:  JOURNÉE DE L’AN.

 

TODAY’s EVENT:

1958:  The European Economic Community ( EEC ) starts.

TODAY’s QUESTION:

January  -  where does that name come from? And what is linked to this month?

The name January is named after the Roman god JANUS ( Ianuarius ). He was the god for all beginning. He is associated with door openings, town gates, etc. The gates to his temple in Rome should never be closed, when Rome was at war.  Janus was equipped with two faces, an old and a new one. In this way he was able to look back as well as forward.  The word itself comes from the Latin word for door:  ianua.

The old Danish word for this month was GLUGMÅNED. It comes from the Danish word glug, which means peephole. You were looking into the new year.

The old Saxon name for January was WULF-MONATH – meaning Wolf Month. Charlemagne called it WINTARMANOTH  ( Winter Month )

Originally the calendar of the Romans had only 10 months. The first month of the year was March. The winter months were not counted. But about 713 BC king Numa Pompilius introduced January as well as February. In this way the calendar ran parallel to the Lunar Calendar.

 

There are a number of old Danish weather warnings for the month of January:

• Heavy snowfall in January will give a good harvest
• Much rain in January will make the fields empty
• A dry January will make a dry July
• When January and February are mild March will be cold
• Strong winds in January mean a mild March
• A mild January will give frost in March and April

 

See more about the names of the 12 months:   

 http://www.pantheon.org/miscellaneous/origin_months.html

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

Estaminet  -  what is that? And where does it come from?

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

EUROPE AT WORK     www.europe-at-work.be

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

Justice, not revenge!

This is the title of the book, which the Austrian nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal wrote about his work.   It is very recommendable.

2.  Today’s quote:

Women are the chameleons of love. We men are just the colour, which they at any moment adapt to.

Who of today’s persons has said that?

3.  Famous people born on this day:

1638:  Nicolas Steno  ( died 1686 )

1862:  Pierre de Coubertin  ( died 1937 )

1887:  Wilhelm Canaris  ( died 1945 )

1895:  J. Edgar Hoover  ( died 1972 )

1919:  J.D. Salinger  ( died 2010 )

 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

1559:  Christian III  ( 56 years )

1972:  Maurice Chevalier  ( 84 years )  - see more about him in Wikipedia