September

September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar. It was originally the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 153 BCE.

Naming September - The Seventh Month

September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and has a length of 30 days.  The month kept its original name from the Roman calendar in which septem means “seven” in Latin marking it as the seventh month.

September was named during a time when the calendar year began with March, which is why its name no longer corresponds with its placement in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

• Middle English - septembre
• Latin name - september mensis - seventh month
• Anglo-Saxons - Gerst monath - Barley month

History of September

September was the seventh month that had a length of 30 days in the Roman calendar. It became the ninth month with a length of 29 days when King Numa Pompilius reformed the calendar and added the months of January and February around 700 BCE. Julius Caesar added one day to the month making it 30 days long during the Julian calendar reform.

Position in the Year

September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar and was the seventh month in the Roman calendar. It marks the ecclesiastical year in the Easter Orthodox Church. It is also a time when many students return to school after the summer holiday in the Northern Hemisphere.

September starts on the same day of the week as December every year, but does not end on the same day of the week as any other month in the year.

Symbols

Its birth flowers are the forget-me-not, morning glory and aster.

The birthstone for September is the sapphire which means clear thinking.