Jan Rutledge, age 10, of McAllen, Texas, for her question:

HOW DID JANUARY RECEIVE ITS NAME?

January, the first month of the year, is named for Janus, a Roman god. In Roman mythology, Janus was a god who had two faces that looked in opposite directions. One face looked into the past and the other looked into the future. His name comes from the Latin word "Janua,"  meaning "gate."

According to legend, Numa Pompilius added January and   to the end of the 10 month Roman calendar about 700 B.C. He gave the month 30 days.

Then in 46 B.C., Julius Ceasar added a day and made January the first month.

The Norsemen named the month for Thor, their god of thunder and storms. The Anglo Saxons called it "Wolfmonth" because wolves came into the villages in winter in search of food.

In the northern half of the world, January is usually the coldest month of the year. In the southern half of the world, January is usually the warmest month of the year.

A symbol of the month is the snowdrop, January's special flower. It often blooms in the snow. Others consider the carnation as January's special flower. The garnet is the January birthstone.