January is the month of Janus, the two-headed god of ancient Romans in charge of new beginnings. His two faces gazed in opposite directions so that he could watch the start and the end of each day. With such a momentous job, Janus was the natural choice to usher in the New Year. But the actual first day of the New Year was up for grabs until the Roman Senate settled on January 1. Janus became the god people prayed to for mercy from their enemies and for a prosperous time ahead.
Janus is one of the few
Roman gods that has no counterpart in Greek mythology as the Zeus/Jupiter or
Hera/Juno duality. Janus was one of the "good gods" who humankind
could appeal to for help in everyday life. How Janus became associated with the
negative connotation of being hypocritical or deceitful: "two-faced"
or "Janus-faced," remains a mystery. God of doors, gateways,
beginnings, childbirth, the future and the past, he was often called upon at
the start of wars. To show his support, the doors to his temple in the Roman
Forum would remain open during wars, while they stayed closed during times of
peace.
Beginning the New Year with
resolutions is a tradition we are very familiar with. Many people pledge to
work on bettering themselves, and vow to stop smoking, lose weight, or give up
drinking. The ancient Romans also had resolutions, eager to throw out whatever
bad luck they had in the old year and replace it with good luck in the new.
They believed in giving New Year's gifts: olive branches from special, sacred
trees; gold-covered nuts; or from the wealthy, gold coins of Janus himself.
We in modern times also
look forward to a fresh start on January 1 and derive comfort from traditions
with our family and friends. Our custom of having parties on New Year's Eve
comes from the belief that what people did or ate on January 1 would affect the
luck they would have throughout the coming year. What better way to ring in the
New Year than celebrating with those you love? Many people still believe in the
tradition that if a tall, dark-haired man is the first person to enter their
house, they will have good fortune for the entire year. And as for food,
black-eyed peas are a requirement to eat on New Year's Day, along with ham or
hog jowls, a symbol of prosperity. Some regions consider cabbage as lucky food,
donuts as the circle of life, and even rice is considered fortuitous.
As January is
the perfect month for Susanne Marie Knight's, JANUS IS A TWO-HEADED
GOD, this award-winning science fiction romance is now available
electonically at: Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.
Also available electronically is
the sequel JANUS
IS A TWO-FACED MOON, at Amazon.com
and Smashwords.com
