January: easily the worst part of the year. The post-holiday blues, below-zero weather and nothing fun to look forward to except for Valentine's Day (which most people don't already look forward to) make January terribly sad and difficult to get through. Each January, I like to look up fun facts about this terrible month to try and make it a little bit better than it actually is. Here's a fun fact for every day of January to make it a little bit more interesting and make it suck a little less.
1. Official Flowers of January: snowdrop and carnation
2. Official Gem of January: Garnet
3. January 22 is National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day.
4. January is the coldest month in the Northern hemisphere (brrr).
5. January is the southern hemisphere's weather-equivalent to July (screw you, Australia).
6. The Saxons called January the "Wolf Month"
7. The Romans named January after the god Janus who had two heads so he could look back at the old year and forward to the new year at the same time.
8. Cold-tolerant winter cabbage that grows in the United Kingdom is called "January Kings."
9. Before 1622, the new year began on March 25.
10. On Leap Years, January, April and July start on the same day.
11. On non-Leap Years, January and October start on the same day.
12. January is Oatmeal Month, Thank You Month, Bath Safety Month, Weight Loss Awareness Month, and Mentoring Month.
13. The first Super Bowl was in January of 1967.
14. A high number of doctors are born in January.
15. January 1st is both the closest and the furthest date from December 31st.
16. Common Sense by Thomas Paine was published on January 10, 1776.
17. Utah and New Mexico both became states in January (1896 and 1912, respectively).
18. Martin Luther King, Jr. day is celebrated on the third Monday of January.
19. National Pie Day (23), National Compliment Day (24) and National Sticker Day (13) are all in January.
20. Frank Sinatra, Michelle Obama, Elvis Presley and LL Cool J are all January babies.
21. So are Edgar Allen Poe, FDR, Paul Revere and Betsy Ross.
22. In January of 1789, the first Presidential Election was held in the United States.
23. It is a New Years tradition in Spain to eat 12 grapes at midnight, one with every last chime of the clock.
24. A New Years tradition in ancient Thailand was to fire guns at midnight in order to scare off evil spirits.
25. In Scotland, they practice the "first foot" tradition where the first foot of a guest to cross into your home after the new year will predict the upcoming year's fortune (for example, if it is a young woman it is implied she will become a bride).
26. The idea of making a New Year's resolution was first practiced in ancient Babylon in as early 2600 B.C.
27. The idea of the New Year's kiss was first performed by ancient Romans who used the act to choose their wives for the upcoming year.
28. Eggs were exchanged by ancient Persians as gifts for fertility in the new year.
29. In Scotland, coal, shortbread and silverware were given as gifts as a sign of good luck.
30. January is one of the few months with two full moons.
31. Some of the seasonal fruits and vegetables of January are apples, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, turnips and parsnips. Eat up!
Source: Farmers Almanac
