18
Currents
September 2018
> continued from page 16
Sept. 9-11, 2018
solar year of 365 days. To resolve this problem, the
Romans added two new months at the beginning of the
old calendar. The year started with January to honor
Janus, the god of new beginnings. Next came February,
the month to celebrate the purification ritual called Februa,
followed by the ten “old” months. Today we still use this
twelve-month calendar.
In 44 BC, quintilis was renamed July to commemorate
Julius Caesar. In 8 BC, sextilis was changed to August to
honor the famous Emperor Augustus. September, Octo-
ber, November and December kept their old names which,
however, no longer indicated their numerical position in
the calendar.
That’s how September moved from 7th to 9th posi-
tion. October, November and December became respec-
tively the 10th, 11th and 12th months.
Now let’s turn to a more appetizing topic, specifically
the sandwich. Did you know that the name of this humble
fare has aristocratic origins?
John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718 – 1792)
was a British statesman famous for his avid love of gam-
bling. According to one source, during a particularly
intense day of gambling, Montagu
ordered some “finger food” because
he wanted to eat and gamble at the
same time. His cook put some sliced
meat between two pieces of bread,
and served it to the Earl. His fellow
gamblers, also eager not to interrupt
the game, ordered “ the same as
Sandwich.” That’s how the sandwich
got its name.
Today you don’t have to be a
gambler to enjoy a sandwich. Given
the size of many modern sand-
wiches, you may need two hands to
eat one.
Note 1: According to the Roman
poet Ovid, the month of May takes its
name from maiores meaning “elders”
and that of June from iuniores
meaning “young people.
Note 2: The Latin numbers for 5 –
10 are as follows:
quī nque = 5; sex = 6; septem =
7; octō = 8; novem = 9; decem = 10
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