新的一年又开始了，也许你已经买了一本新的日记本或日历本。你们可能有这样的疑问：“这些月份的说法有什么样的由来呢“?——至少我有。当然，你们也有可能已经制定好新年计划，比如：制定健身计划，预定好社团以及其他和新年计划有关的细节(你想好你的新年计划了吗?)。我们想借此机会在你们新计划列表上增添上这样一项计划：了解12个月份的来历。先小小地透露一下：它们的来历和神、统治者以及数字有关。

　　January

　　一月

　　January is named after the Roman god Janus, who presided over doors and the beginning of the year (though this is, as you will discover, not as straightforward as it seems). Indeed, Janus was usually depicted with two faces looking backwards and forwards, as is often characteristic of a new year; this also gave rise to the term Janus word for words that have two opposite meanings.

　　一月是以罗马看守门户的Janus命名的，他负责守门以及新一年的开端，尽管这样，你会发现它似乎不止有一面。事实上，Janus常常以两张望向相反方向的面孔示人，这也是新的一年所具备的特点：既要回顾过去，又要展望未来。这样的形象又赋予了“Janus”具有相反含义的特性。

　　February

　　二月

　　February is ultimately based on Latin februarius, from februa. In case that’s not helped things become clearer, februa was the name of a purification feast held on the 15th of this month. February is a divisive issue in modern pronunciation, with both Feb-yoo-ary and Feb-roo-ary being commonly heard.

　　二月形成于拉丁语“februarius”中的“februa”。考虑到大家可能还没有明白它的意思，这边再补充说明一下：“februa”是2月15日举行的一个净化盛宴的名字。现代人对February的发音持有不一样的见解，主要有两种读法，第一种是Feb-yoo-ary，第二种是Feb-roo-ary。

　　March

　　三月

　　Which god gets a planet and a month named after him? You’ve guessed it: Mars. Why him? As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, ‘In ancient Rome several festivals of Mars took place in March,presumably in preparation for the campaigning season, since Mars was a god of war.’

　　哪位神灵拥有一个星球并有一个月份以它命名?你也许猜是“Mars”。为什么是他呢?牛津英语词典里标注道：在古罗马，几个和火星有关的节日都发生在三月，也许这些节日都和准备战争的活动有关，因为Mars是一位战神。

　　April

　　四月

　　We know that the English word April comes from the Latin Aprillis, the fourth month of the ancient Roman calendar, but things are less clear after that. In Old English, April was also sometimes called Eastermonab, ‘Easter month’.

　　我们都知道英语单词“April”来源于拉丁语“Aprillis”，在古罗马的日历上，这是第四个月，但之后的一些事情我们就不大知晓了。在古英语里“April”有时也被称为“Eastermonab”，意为：“复活月”。

　　May

　　五月

　　The month is connected with the goddess Maia. Perhaps less well known now than the otherdeities with months named after them, Maia (in Greek mythology) was daughter of Atlas and mother of Hermes. She was considered a nurturer and an earth goddess, which may explain the connection with this springtime month. Although may is a common modal verb, the month and the word are unrelated.

　　五月和神灵Maia(玛雅)有关。玛雅也许没有其他神灵为人们所熟知，在希腊神话中玛雅是Atlas(阿特拉斯)之女和Hermes(爱马仕)之母。她被认为是一位养育者和一位地球女神，这也解释了May和春季月份的关系。may是一个情态动词，但是月份的“May”和情态动词的“may”是不相关的。

　　June

　　六月

　　Having conceded one month to a Greek deity, we’re now back with the Romans: June is named after the ancient Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and goddess of marriage and childbirth. June was also once sometimes known as midsummer month.

　　介绍了一位希腊神灵，现在我们继续讲讲罗马的神灵。“June”是以古罗马神灵“Juno”命名的。朱诺是Jupiter(丘比特)之妻，掌管着婚姻和生育分娩的事务。六月一度被认为是仲夏月。