Origin and meaning of the names of the Months of the year.

Where do the names of the months originate and what do they mean. Short summary of each one with the birthstones and flowers associated with each month.


January:
January, the first month of the year was named after the Roman god Janus. He was the god of gateways and doors and the custodian of entrances and halls. January, the first month of the year, being the gateway to the new year. Origin of the word Janitor
Birthstone – Garnet representing consistency
Flower – Carnation / Snowdrop

February:
The second month of the year and the shortest. From Latin Februum, meaning purification. The Romans had a purification festival on the 15th of February each year. ( Oxford refers to a “February face” ? )
Birthstone – Amethyst
Flower - Violet and Primrose

March
Also originates from early Roman times and named after Mars (Martius) the Roman god of war. March is the first day of spring in the Northern Henmisphere, and in days passed it meant the start of the military campaign season.
Marching off to war?
Birthstone – Bloodstone/aquamarine meaning courage
Flower – Daffodil

April
Bit of an uncertainty here, but mostly attributed to the Latin word Aprilis, meaning to open. That time of the year when flowers start to bloom. Roman goddess associated with this month was Venus.
Birthstone – Diamond
Flower – Daisy or sweet pea.

May
Not much about May. Originally named after the Roman goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, also known as the Greek goddess Maia, whose festival was held in May. ( Will look for more detail later)
Birthstone – Emerald, meaning love and success
Flower – Lily of the Valley

June
Names after the Roman goddess Juno, Junius. She was also known as the goddess of marriage. It was considered good luck to be married during this month, and a large number of people were married in June.
Birthstone – Pearl and Moonstone meaning health and longevity
Flower - Rose.

This post is getting a bit too long, will split in two and do the balance a bit later
Reference: Wikipedia and Oxford Dictionary

Where did the Days of the Week get their English names from?

Oftentimes one is confronted with trivia questions that one should know, but you do not. You thought you knew, or you know you should have known, but you do not. The bad part is that the village idiot is better informed than you are. The way I get past these embarrassing situations is to make fun of it. Usually say something mundane referring to the finite space in my brain that is full of important stuff and no room for trivial information. This fools nobody, especially me.
Anyhow, one of those areas relates to the origin of English names for the days of the week. I am sure there must be at least one other person out there that suffers from the same lack of knowledge. This post is for both of us.
OK, Sunday. Day of the Sun. Easy to remember Translation from Latin solis dies.
Monday is also easy to remember, also translated from Latin, lunae dies, moon day which is Monday.
Tuesday is a new one to me, the day of Tiw, the Teutonic war god. Things get a bit confused here as reference is made again to the Latin translation of Martis dies, the Roman war god, Mars. My understanding is that Tiw is the Teutonic translation of , or association with, Mars
Wednesday is the day of Woden, or Odin, the main Teutonic God. Also a translation of Latin for Mercurii dies, the Roman god equated with Woden.
Thursday is named after the Norse god of thunder, Thors Day which became Thursday. Again translated from Latin for the Roman god of thunder, Jove.
Friday got its name from Frigga, Woden’s wife. Here it gets a bit confusing as there are references to Freya, also a Norse goddess of love and beauty, associated with Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. So, that one is debatable. (It is always good to have a Silver Bullet to use when there is a wise ass about, it creates the impression that you know more than you really do, especially if you did not contribute to the discussion of any of the other days)
Saturday is the day of Saturn, Roman god of agriculture, translated from Saturni dies.
Now that I know more about this topic, it will most probably only be needed after I have forgotten everything....