January’s origin story

January, it’s cold, it’s dark and the festivities are another year away. But there is a lot more to January than the bleakness. We are going to dive into January’s origin story.

January and Janus’ origin

He has two heads, loiters in doorways and carries a big stick and a set of keys. Meet Janus – Roman deity, guardian of passageways and gates, and founder of the Roman calendar.  As we leave the old year and enter the new, it is Janus who ushers us in. He looks both ways, back into the past and forwards into the future, marking the passage of time and life’s cyclical nature.

Janus has been represented throughout western art and iconography over the centuries. John Bellany was a world-renowned artist from Port Seton, just a few miles from Edinburgh. In 1982 he created this image which was purchased by the Tate Gallery.

‘Janus‘, John Bellany, 1982 | Tate

Janus is a deity without equal, his dual nature unique in the Roman pantheon of gods. In today’s world, his significance is symbolic and highlights the duality of human nature. In a metaphorical sense, Janus helps us transition from old to new, between war and peace, good times and bad, public life and private.

It’s fitting, then, that the beginning of January is often a time of reflection, when we spend some quiet moments summing up the year that’s passed. Maybe it’s been the best year ever and you want to celebrate. Maybe it’s been so-so and you’re happy to carry on and consolidate the plans you made over the last 12 months. Perhaps it’s been a challenging year, and you just want to draw a line under it and move on to a better, brighter future.

Wherever you stand right now, whichever direction you’re facing, we wish you a happy, healthy January and the very best of what 2025 has to offer.

By Lesley McRob

Photo by Aaron Burden Unsplash 

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