The Romanian calendar is the
Gregorian, adopted in 1919. However, the traditional Romanian calendar has its own names for the
months. In modern
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
and
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, the Gregorian calendar is exclusively used for business and government transactions and predominates in popular use as well. Nevertheless, the traditional names of the months do appear in some contexts, for instance on ecclesiastical calendars produced by the
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
.
History
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
adopted the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years diff ...
on 1 April 1919, which became 14 April 1919. In 2019, the
National Bank of Romania
The National Bank of Romania ( ro, Banca Națională a României, BNR) is the central bank of Romania and was established in April 1880. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Bucharest.
The National Bank of Romania is responsible ...
released a
commemorative coin
Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...
of 10
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...
lei to celebrate the centenary of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
's adoption of the calendar.
Traditional month names
All the traditional names of the months are of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
origin, which indicates that their use predates the
Slavic contact around the 8th century. Six months have their names derived from characteristics of the months. Five are derived from the Latin names now used in the Gregorian calendar (and earlier in the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandria.
...
). However, each of these has a
folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
and an additional meaning. The last month, December, derives its name from that of
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
.
See also
*
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years diff ...
*
Slavic calendar
While many Slavic languages officially use Latin-derived names for the months of the year in the Gregorian calendar, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months that differs from the Latin month names, as they are of Slavic origin. In ...
*
Lithuanian calendar
*
French Republican calendar
References
*''
Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române
''Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române'' ("The Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language", known under the abbreviation of DEX) is the most important dictionary of the Romanian language, published by the Institute of Linguistics of the ...
'',
Academia Română
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
, Institutul de Lingvistică "Iorgu Iordan", Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998
{{Authority control
Romanian culture
Moldovan culture
Months