130 Fun Facts About January

The month of January takes its name from which Roman god of beginnings and doorways?

Janus was invoked at the start of every Roman ceremony, whichever god the ceremony was actually for.

How many days does January have?

Seven of the twelve months are that long, and only February never reaches 30.

The god January is named for is usually shown with what unusual feature?

One face looks back at the old year and one looks forward to the new, which is why he suits the month that opens the year.

Which semi-legendary king of Rome traditionally added January and February to the ten-month calendar?

The old ten-month year ran to just 304 days, with the winter simply left uncounted.

Per Livy, in which year BC did the Roman consular year move to 1 January, in response to a rebellion in Hispania?

Consuls had previously entered office in March, which is why the year began in spring for so long.

What did the Anglo-Saxons call January, in a name that translates as 'wolf month'?

Charlemagne, for his part, called it Wintarmanoth, simply 'winter month'.

Which gemstone is the birthstone for January?

Its name probably comes from the Latin for pomegranate, whose red seeds look a lot like the crystals.

Along with the snowdrop, which flower is traditionally January's birth flower?

Both are winter bloomers, which is the whole point of giving a cold month a flower at all.

Galanthus, the snowdrop's genus name, combines the Greek for flower with the Greek word for what?

Linnaeus gave the genus its formal name in 1753, but Theophrastus described the plant in classical times.

Which two zodiac signs fall in January?

The changeover happens around 19 or 20 January.

In most of the Northern Hemisphere, January is on average the year's what?

In the Southern Hemisphere it is the seasonal twin of July, so Australians spend it at the beach.

Counter-intuitively for northern winter, Earth reaches which point of its orbit in early January?

Earth is then about 147 million km from the Sun; seasons come from axial tilt, not distance.

According to the Maine Farmers' Almanac, the full moon in January is named after which animal?

The almanac began publishing the monthly moon names in the 1930s.

The first Times Square ball drop was held on New Year's Eve of which year?

It was organised by Adolph Ochs, owner of The New York Times, to replace a fireworks display the city had banned.

The original iron-and-wood Times Square ball, lit by 100 bulbs, weighed how much?

Later balls were covered in thousands of Waterford crystal panels lit by LEDs.

England and its American colonies only adopted 1 January as New Year's Day from which year?

Before that the legal year in England began on 25 March, Lady Day.

New Year's Day cold-water plunges are nicknamed after which animal?

Many plunges double as charity fundraisers.

Hogmanay is the Scots word for what?

In Scotland the party runs so long that 2 January is a bank holiday too.

Who is traditionally preferred as the first-foot across a Scottish threshold after midnight?

The first-foot usually brings symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, whisky or black bun.

In Western Christianity, the feast of Epiphany on 6 January principally commemorates what?

Eastern churches focus instead on the baptism of Jesus and call the feast Theophany.

In Mexico, whoever finds the baby Jesus in a rosca de reyes on 6 January traditionally must do what?

Candlemas falls on 2 February, so the obligation comes with a month's notice, and tamales are the usual menu.

Superstition says it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations up after which January date?

Depending on how you count the twelve days, that is 5 or 6 January.

Why do many Russians celebrate Christmas on 7 January?

That calendar currently runs 13 days behind the Gregorian one, so 25 December lands on 7 January.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on which day each year?

It is also designated a National Day of Service.

In which year was Martin Luther King Jr. Day first observed as a federal holiday?

Ronald Reagan signed the bill in 1983; New Hampshire became the last state to name the holiday for King, in 2000.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on 15 January 1929 in which city?

He was born Michael King Jr.; his father renamed them both after the Reformation figure Martin Luther in 1934.

Australia Day marks the 1788 raising of the Union Flag by which governor?

Some Australians observe the date instead as Invasion Day or Survival Day.

India's Republic Day on 26 January commemorates what event in 1950?

The date was chosen because the Indian National Congress had declared Purna Swaraj, complete independence, on 26 January 1930.

Burns Night, celebrated on 25 January, traditionally centres on which dish?

The very first supper for Burns was held by his friends in July 1801 at Burns Cottage in Ayrshire.

Japan's Coming of Age Day, held on the second Monday of January, honours people who have reached what?

Many young women attend in furisode, a long-sleeved kimono, while ceremonies are held at local city offices.

Chinese New Year celebrations end on the 15th day with what?

The first day always falls on the new moon between 21 January and 20 February.

Dry January, the campaign to give up alcohol for the month, is run by a charity from which country?

Alcohol Change UK formalised it in 2013 with 4,000 sign-ups; by 2024 that had grown to 215,000 worldwide.

'Blue Monday' was invented in a 2005 press release for what kind of business?

Sky Travel's formula has been dismissed as pseudoscience, but mental health charities still use the day to start conversations.

Which document, issued by Lincoln on 1 January 1863, changed the legal status of 3.5 million enslaved people?

It applied only to the states still in rebellion, so it left about half a million people in the border states enslaved.

Annie Moore from Cork was the first person processed on 1 January 1892 at which station?

About 12 million immigrants followed her through before it closed in 1954.

Which US state was admitted to the Union on 3 January 1959?

It was the 49th state, and it had been bought from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million.

Which website, founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, launched on 15 January 2001?

Sanger proposed the name as a blend of 'wiki' and 'encyclopedia'.

How many seconds into its flight on 28 January 1986 did the Space Shuttle Challenger break apart?

Record-low temperatures that morning had stiffened the rubber O-rings in a solid rocket booster joint.

A cabin fire during a launch rehearsal on 27 January 1967 killed the crew of which NASA mission?

Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in a cabin pressurised with pure oxygen.

Elvis Presley was born on 8 January 1935 in which Mississippi town?

His twin brother Jesse Garon was stillborn 35 minutes before him.

Which American polymath, born in Boston on 17 January 1706, invented the lightning rod and bifocals?

He also gave the world the glass harmonica and a stove that still bears his name.

Which French king was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793?

He died at the Place de la Révolution, now the Place de la Concorde; his queen Marie Antoinette followed in October.

Euro banknotes and coins first entered circulation on 1 January of which year?

The currency had already existed invisibly since 1999, used for accounting and electronic payments only.

The first Super Bowl, played on 15 January 1967, saw the Green Bay Packers beat which team 35-10?

It is still the only Super Bowl broadcast simultaneously by two networks, CBS and NBC.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 in the grounds of which New Delhi mansion?

India marks the date every year as Martyrs' Day.

In 1919, a burst tank sent a wave of what through Boston's North End at about 35 mph?

The wave was as much as 25 feet high and killed 21 people.

The first Winter Olympic Games opened on 25 January 1924 in which French town?

They were staged as an 'International Winter Sports Week' and only declared the first Winter Olympics by the IOC in 1926.

Which composer, who wrote more than 800 works before dying at 35, was born in Salzburg in 1756?

His Requiem was still unfinished when he died in Vienna in December 1791.

World Braille Day marks the birthday of Louis Braille, born in 1809 in which country?

The UN General Assembly proclaimed the day in November 2018 and it was first observed in 2019.

In ancient Rome, which festival was celebrated on 11 January in honour of the goddess Carmenta?

One of the year's three Agonalia fell two days earlier, on 9 January.

What did Charlemagne call January, in a name meaning 'winter month'?

The Saxons called it Wulf-monath.

In roughly which year is King Numa Pompilius said to have added the two winter months?

The original ten-month Roman calendar totalled 304 days.

In the Southern Hemisphere, January is on average the year's what?

It's the seasonal equivalent of July in the north.

Which US state marks its statehood with a named day on 29 January?

It marks the state's 1861 admission to the Union.

Which food is celebrated across the whole of January in the U.S. as a 'month'?

Hot Tea Month and Oatmeal Month share the calendar.

Which Wales observance on 25 January honours the Welsh patron saint of lovers?

It shares the date with Burns Night.

Which Pacific microstate marks its Independence Day on 31 January?

Myanmar celebrates independence on 4 January.

Which whimsical American observance falls on 16 January?

National Popcorn Day is 19 January and National Pie Day is 23 January.

Which packaging material gets an appreciation day on the last Monday of January?

Community Manager Appreciation Day is the fourth Monday.

Which Caribbean nation marks both Independence Day and Ancestry Day on 1–2 January?

Cuba marks the Triumph of the Revolution on 1 January.

Which are the first inhabited places to welcome the New Year each year?

American Samoa and Baker Island are among the last.

Which bandleader's Royal Canadians were famed for their New York New Year's Eve broadcasts?

'Auld Lang Syne' is sung with revellers joining hands in a circle.

Which Spanish midnight custom involves eating twelve of something?

One for each month of the year.

Ecuadorians burn life-size effigies at midnight called what?

They represent the things people hated about the departing year.

Which Scottish town's revellers swing 'fireballs' made of chicken wire around their heads at midnight?

The ritual is believed to ward off spirits.

Which Japanese broadcaster has aired the Kōhaku Uta Gassen song battle each New Year's Eve since 1951?

Red and white teams of singers compete.

Which orchestra traditionally performs a New Year's concert on the morning of 1 January?

It's broadcast around the world.

Which Babylonian festival, marking the new year around 2000 BC, spawned the tradition of resolutions?

The Romans adopted both the festival timing and the resolutions.

Since 1970, some countries celebrate Epiphany on which day instead of the traditional date?

Julian-calendar churches mark it on 19 January.

Which four items does a priest bless on Epiphany in parts of central Europe?

The chalk is used to mark doors with the Magi's initials.

Candlemas, which in Tudor England marked the end of the Christmas season, falls on what date?

Epiphanytide runs from Twelfth Night until Candlemas.

Where was Shakespeare's Twelfth Night first known to have been performed, in 1602?

It's one of London's Inns of Court.

Which singer's 1980 song 'Happy Birthday' campaigned for the MLK holiday?

A six-million-signature petition went to Congress.

Which president signed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday into law in 1983?

He had initially opposed it.

Which state was last to create a January King holiday, dubbing it 'Civil Rights Day' in 1991?

Official observance in every state's law came in 2000.

Which two men co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act creating the national day of service?

Wofford was a Pennsylvania senator; Lewis an Atlanta congressman.

Which constitutional amendment moved Inauguration Day to 20 January?

The first 20 January inauguration was in 1937.

Which president left Washington rather than attend Jefferson's 1801 inauguration?

His son John Quincy Adams later skipped Jackson's inauguration too.

In what year was Australia Day fixed on 26 January in all jurisdictions?

Some states had held it on a Friday for a long weekend.

Which award is presented on Australia Day Eve?

The Australia Day Honours list is announced the next day.

Some Indigenous Australians observe 26 January under what alternative names?

A large 1988 bicentennial gathering in Sydney marked it as Invasion Day.

Robert Burns was born in which Ayrshire village?

His father built the cottage, now a museum.

Burns planned to emigrate to which island to work on a sugar plantation?

He published his poems to raise money for the passage.

Which Burns song served for a long time as Scotland's unofficial national anthem?

He wrote it in 1793.

In 2009, Scottish viewers voted Burns what in an STV poll?

He is a pioneer of the Romantic movement.

The word 'garnet' possibly refers to the seeds of which fruit?

It comes via Old French from Latin granum, 'seed'.

Anglo-Saxon garnet cloisonné jewellery was famously found at which burial site?

The style spread from England to the Black Sea.

Which state adopted the red carnation as its flower to honour assassinated President McKinley?

McKinley considered it his lucky flower.

Oxford students wear which colour carnation to their final exam?

White comes first, pink in between.

Which 1974 uprising takes its name from the carnations worn by soldiers?

It toppled Portugal's Estado Novo regime.

Which alkaloid found in snowdrops is used to treat Alzheimer's disease?

It also occurs naturally in daffodils.

Keen snowdrop collectors are known by what name?

Rare cultivars change hands at their meetings.

Aquarius is one of the three air signs, alongside which two?

Its opposite sign is Leo.

In Plough Monday processions, what was the man or boy dressed as an old woman called?

A 'fool' accompanied the plough too.

The word 'wassail' comes from an Old Norse salutation meaning what?

The reply was 'drinkhail'.

On which Gregorian date does the Old (Orthodox) New Year fall in the 21st century?

It follows the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind the Gregorian one from 1900 to 2100.

Makar Sankranti marks the sun's transition into which zodiac sign?

Makara means Capricorn; the festival is usually 14 January.

Which mythical beast, said to eat villagers, is central to Chinese New Year legend?

It looks like a lion with horns.

What is the name for the 40-day travel period around Chinese New Year, the world's largest migration?

Hundreds of millions of trips are made.

In what year did UNESCO add Chinese New Year to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list?

The Spring Festival was restored as a public holiday in China by 1980.

A law that took effect in 2022 set Japan's age of adulthood at what?

Coming of Age Day stayed on the second Monday of January after the change.

Which Japanese city is credited with inspiring the national Coming of Age Day?

Its youth festival prompted the 1948 National Holidays Law.

Why was 26 January chosen for India's Republic Day?

Rajendra Prasad became the first President that day in 1950.

When would something happen if a Roman said it would occur 'at the Greek calends'?

Greeks had no calends, so the day never came.

Roman rites invoked Janus first and which goddess last?

Janus primus, Vesta extrema.

Where was the first CES held in June 1967?

It was a spin-off of the Chicago Music Show.

Where were the first Golden Globes held on 20 January 1944?

They honoured 1943's films.

Robert Redford's Utah land, which gave the festival its name, was named for his role in which film?

The festival began in Salt Lake City in 1978.

Which two teams played the first NHL Winter Classic in 2008?

It was held at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park.

Which 2014 Winter Classic set an NHL attendance record of 105,491?

It was played at Michigan Stadium.

Which two New Zealand cities have hosted the Australian Open?

Only two Australians competed in the 1906 Christchurch event.

Which court surface did the Australian Open use before switching to hard courts in 1988?

It has used Rebound Ace, Plexicushion and GreenSet since.

Which country has hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020?

It ran in South America from 2009 to 2019.

Thierry Sabine conceived the Dakar after getting lost in which desert in 1975?

The first rally ran from Paris in December 1978.

Which MP asked Tony Blair in 1999 to create a UK Holocaust memorial day?

The first UK Holocaust Memorial Day was held in January 2001.

Data Privacy Day on 28 January marks the 1981 opening of a data convention by which body?

Europe calls it Data Protection Day.

Which Michigan town launched National Hugging Day in 1986?

Kevin Zaborney created the 21 January event.

Which UK charity trademarked the name Dry January in 2014?

Emily Robinson launched the campaign after training for a half marathon.

Which two people founded Veganuary in 2014?

Only 3,325 people joined the first challenge.

Which US secretary of state negotiated the 1867 Alaska Purchase for $7.2 million?

Critics called it 'Seward's Folly'; Alaska became a state on 3 January 1959.

Which Pasadena street hosts most of the Rose Parade route?

The parade began on 1 January 1890.

Which broadcaster nicknamed the Rose Bowl 'The Granddaddy of Them All'?

It was first played in 1902.

Which component of Challenger failed on 28 January 1986, causing the disaster?

Record-low temperatures had stiffened the rubber seals.

Which teacher was aboard Challenger under the Teacher in Space Project?

Her presence meant many schools watched the launch live.

Which UN body proclaimed World Braille Day, first marked on 4 January 2019?

The date is Louis Braille's birthday.

Shetland's Up Helly Aa fire festival in Lerwick climaxes with the burning of what?

Up to a thousand costumed guizers march with torches on the last Tuesday in January, led by a chief guizer called the Jarl.

Timkat, celebrated on 19 January, is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of which feast?

It commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, with priests carrying a wrapped Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, in procession.

Iceland's midwinter feast Þorrablót combines an old calendar month name with which word?

The modern festival was revived by Icelandic students in Copenhagen in 1873 as a Romantic-nationalist counterpart to Scotland's Burns Night.

Where in Sydney was the Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed on 1 January 1901?

Sir Edmund Barton was sworn in as interim prime minister at the head of a nine-member ministry.

In which year did the first torch celebration take place on Up Helly Aa Day in Lerwick?

Torch processions replaced the rowdier tradition of dragging burning tar barrels through town, abolished around 1874 to 1880.