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Romulus, the year was divided into ten months, the last of which was called December, or the tenth month. and this name, though etymologically incorrect, was retained for the last or twelfth month of the year as now divided. In the Romulian calendar December had See also:

THIRTY

thirty days ; Numa reduced the number to twenty-nine ; See also:

JULIUS

Julius See also:

Caesar added two days to this, giving the month its See also:

PRESENT

present length. The Saturnalia occurred in December, which is therefore styled " acceptus geniis " by See also:

OVID [PUBLIUS OvID1us NASO] (43 B.C.–A.D. 17)

Ovid (See also:

FASTI

Fasti, iii. 58); and this also explains the phrase of See also:

HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Horace " libertate Decembri utere " (Sat. ii. 7). See also:

MARTIAL (MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS)

Martial applies to the month the epithet canus (hoary), and Ovid styles it gelidus (frosty) and fumosus (smoky). In the reign of See also:

COMMODUS, LUCIUS AELIUS AURELIUS (161-192)

Commodus it was temporarily styled Amazonius, in See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of the See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor's See also:

MISTRESS

mistress, whom he had had painted as an See also:

AMAZON

Amazon. The See also:

SAXONS

Saxons called it See also:

winter-monath, winter month, and heligh-monath, See also:

HOLY

holy month, from the fact that See also:

CHRISTMAS (i.e. the Mass of Christ)

Christmas See also:

fell within it. Thus the See also:

MODERN

modern Germans See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call it Christmonat. The 22nd of December is the date of the winter See also:

SOLSTICE (Lat. solstitium, from sal, sun, and sistere, to stand still)

solstice, when the See also:

sun reaches the tropic of Capricorn.

End of Article: DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

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DECELEA (Gr. DeeeXeta); an Attic deme, on the pass ...

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DECEMVIRI (" the ten men ")