Why is March, March?

Have you ever thought about who actually named the months? Why are the months named what they are named?

Well, in ancient Rome, the Romans thought that all war should cease, or come to an end, when the transition between years happened. For example: If there was a war going on in December of 2016, it would stop until 2017 had come, and then the people would continue fighting after they celebrated. This was an excuse to have peace and to celebrate the new year without having to worry about being attacked or sabotaged.

In ancient Roman times, however, March was considered the first month of the new year, therefore, explaining why the celebration of the new year happened in March, and not in January.

Matthew Rollo, 11, said, “To me, I associate March with spring, the coming of life and well-being that puts a graceful end to the dismal grays of winter, so I feel like the month should have instead been named after a god of spring or life.”

The Romans named March after their god of war, Mars, in honor of celebrating the in coming year, and putting a stop to war, at least for a few weeks.