Welcome back to a new term everyone. Christmas is over and New Year's resolutions are in full swing. You may have decided to increase the amount of home work and revision you do (hopefully!) Or maybe you are planning to give something up?
January is often a bit dark and dismal, we leave for school in the dark and get home in the dark; summer holidays are but a distant dream. So it is easy to feel a bit glum at the prospect of the long slog to the Easter holidays.
So here, to cheer you up are some very interesting facts and bits of trivia about January!
1. January is named after Roman God 'Janus' - who is the God of new beginnings and transitions. It is said that he had two heads. This enabled him to look backwards and forwards at past and future at the same time.
2. The Epiphany is said to have taken place at some point in January. The Three Wise Men, following the brightest star, visited the baby Jesus bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. We can't be sure of the exact date but it is said to have happened during this month.
3. Veganuary is very popular this month. A lot of people are now choosing to give up eating meat and dairy for January. Partly for the health benefits, but also due to the effect that raising cattle could have on global warming. Estimates vary, but livestock are reckoned to be responsible for up to 14% of all greenhouse emissions from human activities. Globally, livestock are responsible for burping (and a small amount from farting) the methane equivalent of 3.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually. Another factor is the amount of cereal that needs to be grown in order to feed livestock. This cereal could be used to feed the starving all over the world if we weren't feeding it to cattle.
4. January 1st is the day furthest away from and closest to December 31st!
5. January 13th is on record as often being the coldest day of the year, according to the Met Office.
6. January 16th is 'World Religion Day' - This day was started by followers of the Baha'i faith. They believe that all religions have common beliefs and should be all respected equally.
7. January 18th is called 'Pooh Day' as A.A.Milne the creator of Winnie the Pooh was born on this day.
8. January 20th this year is 'Blue Monday' - this has been calculated as the glummest day of the year as the weather is often gloomy, some of us have failed at our New Year's resolutions and our Summer holiday seems a long way off.
9. January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day. This will be commemorated in school as always.
10. January joke:Can January March? No but April May!