NIELS JØRGEN THØGERSEN
J U LY And all its 31 days Niels Jørgen Thøgersen This month is named after Julius Caesar. He was born on 13 July in year 100 BC. After he in 46 BC had become the ruler of the Roman empire, he implemented a major reform of the calendar. The Roman year had so far been based on the Moon Year starting on what is known today as March 1. The month of July was then called Quintilis, which is Latin and means the 5th month. Now Caesar based the new calendar on the Solar Year starting on January 1. And he named the month of his own birth after himself, namely JULY. It is this so-called Julian calendar, which in 1582 was adjusted by Pope Gregory XIII. In this way we got the so-called Gregorian calendar we use today. July is incidentally the name of this month to virtually all Germanic and Roman languages: Juli (Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch / Flemish, Spanish); July (English); Juillet (French): Lugnio (Italian); Julho ( Portuguese); Iulie (Romanian). In the calendar of the Vikings this month was called Ormemåned ( The Month of Worms ). The previous month was called Hay Month and the one afterwards Harvest Month. Why Month of Worms ? Probably because it is just in this month that all sorts of animals crawl all over the place: Spiders, beetles, worms, snails, vipers, grass snakes, tadpoles, chicks, etc. There are also some old Danish weather warnings attached to this month: Many white clouds in the sky provides a rigorous winter with lots of snow. And another warning: When July is warm and clear, Christmas usually becomes cold. The so-called Hundedage ( Days of Dogs ) start on 22 July and last until 22 August. They are normally the hottest part of the summer. And they have their name from the fact that the constallation Big Dog ( where you can find the dog star Sirius ) just in that period is closest to the sun. The myth says that it is the star which heats up the sun to higher temperatures than normal. The myth also says that it is during this period that meat becomes rotten , milk turns acid and the dogs become fierce and run away.