“The Month of January” – By Rubbina Singh, University of Calgary (Canada)
The name ‘January’ originated before the year 1000 from the Latin Jānuārius, or Janus, a Roman god of ‘Beginnings‘, and the ‘Rising Sun‘. Perhaps, it gave us the word janitor, which refers to the first ‘caretaker’ or ‘custodian’, looking after the needs of each new day. January became the first month of the Roman calendar, after 153 BCE.
Nanakshahi calendar year, which the Sikhs follow, starts in the Punjabi (Indian) month ‘Chet‘ on 14 March every year. On 13 January, the corresponding month of Maagh starts.
The Nanakshahi calendar follows the Rotation of the Earth around the Sun as the basis of its calculations. Its months start on certain fixed dates corresponding to the Gregorian year and are not associated with the lunar phases. The first five months have 31 days each.
14 March – Chet, 14 April – Vaisakh, 15 May – Jeth, 15 June – Harr, and 16 July – Sawan.
The next seven months of the Nanakshahi calendar year have 30 days each. 16 August – Bhaddon, 15 September – Assu, 15 October – Kattak, 14 November – Maghar, 14 December – Poh, 13 January – Maagh, and 12 February – Phaggan. One day is added to the last month after four years to form the ‘Leap year‘.
One advantage of this system in the Nanakshahi calendar is that every year all festivals and Gurpurabs (days associated with the Life of each Guru), fall on the same dates and there is no confusion.
Some important International and National events celebrated in January are as follows.
January 1: “New Year’s Day” is known for recaps of events of the previous year, retrospection, and resolutions for the new year. It is observed as “World Day of Peace” by the Catholic Church, in Honor of the Holy Mary-the Mother of Jesus Christ.
January 4: “World Braille Day“ is celebrated to spread awareness of the importance of talents, and efforts for the full realization of the human rights of visually impaired people.
January 5: is celebrated by the Sikhs annually all over the world as the Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh (born in 1666), the tenth (Dasmesh) and last Sikh Guru who founded The Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib (on Vaisakhi day or 14 April in 1699).
January 8: “Earth’s Rotation Day” is observed every year to commemorate French physicist Leon Foucault’s demonstration in 1851 that the Earth rotates on its axis in nearly 24 hours (with a tilt of about 23.50).
January 26: “Australia Day“ is observed annually to mark the landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the raising of the Union Flag by British Admiral Arthur Phillip. On this day Nelson Mandela was released from jail after his 27 years of imprisonment. Indians celebrate it as their Republic Day.
January 30: “World Leprosy Day” is observed internationally every year on the last Sunday of January to increase public awareness of leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) and compassion for people afflicted with leprosy.
Since 1986, the United States observes the third Monday in January every year to honor Martin Luther King Jr. (born on 15 January 1929), a man who was an inspirational civil rights activist during the 1960s.
ਸਾਂਝੀ ਵਿਰਾਸਤ 