Useless Observations: Calendar
Hey everyone,
While preparing my February list of Useless Observations, because it will be February on Thursday, one item on the list felt like it deserved its own newsletter. I may do this more often this year as I experiment with different types of newsletters, so if you like this let me know. Without further ado, let’s talk about the calendar.
The prefix oct- means eight and is used for words such as octagon, a shape with eight sides, and octopus, an animal with eight legs. If oct- means eight, why is October the tenth month of the year? A decathlon is a track and field event containing ten events, and a decathlete competes in these ten events. If dec- means ten, why is December the 12th month of the year? A septuagenarian is a 70-year-old person, but September is the ninth month. Why are the names of the months off by two months?
If you moved all of the months over by two months to realign September, October, November, and December with where they belong, the months would begin with March and end with February. It makes a lot of sense that the month that’s randomly the shortest would appear at the end of the year. It also makes a lot of sense for the winter months to all be together at the end of the year. Lastly, the beginning of spring aligning with the beginning of the year also makes sense. I’ve learned that the Lunar New Year is known as the Spring Festival in China, so having the New Year occur in February seems logical. It’s so logical I don’t understand why it all had to be realigned. Who stands to benefit from the year starting in January instead of March?
I don’t have an answer to these questions, which is why this is a Useless Observations newsletter, but let me know what you think. Also, I’m craving hot pot now.