What is December named for?
December has marked the end of the year and the coming of winter since the ancient Romans established their first calendar.
December comes from the Latin root decem- which means “ten” … even though December is the twelfth month.
The strange numbering discrepancy is also present for the months of September, October, and November, which mean “seven,” “eight,” and “nine,” even though they’re our ninth, tenth, and eleventh months.
Why? Well, the ancient Roman calendar only had ten months in the year, beginning with the month of March. January and February were eventually added after December to the end of the year.
But, by the time the Julian calendar was established in 45 bc, January and February appeared at the beginning of the year, which bumped all of the original months (and their originally assigned names) back by two.
Old names for December
Before December the Old English terms for December were Ǣrra Gēolaor Gēolmōnað, meaning “yule month.”
The early Germanic people celebrated the mid-wintery season during a time that was called yuletide, a two-month period that spanned December and January.
With the rise of Christianity, the yule was condensed and adopted into the formal worship under the Christian name Christmastide, which begins on Christmas Day and lasts a total of 12 days—the 12 days of Christmas.
