When Does the Year Really Begin?

Why does the year have to start in January?  In the Northern Hemisphere it is mid winter.  There’s nothing ‘new’ or being ‘renewed’  at that time of year.

Why January?

In a previous article , I made the case for September being the beginning of the New Year.   In many cases, it is the ‘beginning’ , i.e. a New School year.

But there’s another time of year just as relevant as September.  That would be the month of March.

Yes, March.

Let’s look at a Calendar, and lets look at Astrology.

Ares

The Zodiac begins with Ares.   The very first of the Twelve signs of the Zodiac is the Ram, Ares.   We enter the realm of Ares  in March.

Interestingly, March was the First Month in the Roman calendar.  This month was named after Mars.   Mars was one of the Roman pantheon, as well as the name of a near planet.

The effect of the  Romans on our modern calendars is still evident.

Examining  a Western Calendar there are Months which never got a name.   As you can see, some are named after Ceasars,  just as Julius, July, and Augustus, August.   Some are named after deities, i.e. June for Juno. But there are months the Romans never named; September, October, November and December.   Sept…is seven,   Oct… is eight,  Nov is nine, and Dec is ten.

Consider Septuagenarian, a seventy year old,  Octagon, a geometric figure with eight sides, etc, to get the meaning of the prefixes.

Following this, knowing there were 12 months in a year, that would mean March would be the First Month, so we are still, on paper, calling December the 10th month of the year.  January is the 11th, and little February is the 12th.

March is (again, North of the Equator) the beginning of Spring.  The winter has ended, the snow is gone, (supposed to be)  trees are budding, or getting ready to bud.     Everything about March  is of ‘beginning’.

Considering places with seasons would see Spring as the Start and Winter as the End, March seems a good choice for the beginning of the year.