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Top 12 Months - It's a Date

Johnny Unusual

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)

I too love my calendar, girl!

Alright, here we are. This one felt a bit of a risk, even more than season. Maybe no one else really thinks about their own preferences regarding months and why. But no, thankfully people came to play with their own ideas of what month is their best. Obviously, some factors are celebrations and observances but it also amounts to how the month is shaped by that. Also by weather, food, traditions, etc It can bring to mind powerful memories, show promise for a future or simply allow you to slow down and enjoy the present.

Thanks to everyone who participated for participating. Here’s a shout out to all my peeps out there.

Issun
Kirin
Torzelbaum



Purple
Alex
Daikaiju


Yorin Trouble
Gahistu
Olli




WildcatJF
ViolentVixen
61rlVqOQfbL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg
 
12

February

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23 Points, 2 Lists, Highest Vote: #5 @WildcatJF ​

Number of Days: 28 (29 on leap years)

February is the second month of the Julian Calendar and its shortest month. Its name originates from februum, which means "purification" in reference to Februa, a purification ritual that used to be held in that time period. February’s most notable observance is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate love via gift giving, usually in the form of flowers, cards, chocolates and underpants (both edible and non-edible).

Other notable observances include Black History Month (United States and Canada), LGBT History Month (UK and Ireland), International Purple Hijab Day, Flag Day (Mexico), Kitano Baika-sai (Japan) and World Radio Day, which I assume is when we sit around the TV together and watch the film Radio. And cringe and wonder what was going on at the time that we thought this might be OK.

Oh, also every four years it is Leap Day, that little extra day to make the year a little bit longer.


Yes, this is on the tail end of this list but I’m actually surprised February did as well as it did. After all, it’s in the middle of winter and when I talk to people it’s when they start throwing up their hands and asking when the season can be over. But maybe this is also because this is the month where the year, hopefully, starts to find it’s footing. Yes, the bloom is off the rose a bit but with the newness gone, we can finally get into our routines, a thing that we sometimes can really take for granted.

Daikaiju said:
February, doesn't overstay it's welcome.
Click to expand...

 

I think February is a special month. It's shorter, can occasionally be longer due to leap years, and it's been a fairly solid month for me historically.
 
Arrives with some of the worst of the Winter weather. Realizes it's perhaps said too much and then leaves
 
I’m one of those weird people who really loves cold weather, so February ranks fairly high for me just by virtue of being a winter month. I’d take it over August any day.
 
11

Ramadan

1920px-Breaking_the_Fast_%282%29_%2827351979537%29.jpg


24 Points, 2 Lists, #4 RT-55J ​

Number of Days: 29-30

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Its name is related to a word that can means ‘become intensely hot, to become burning; to become scorching; to be blazing; to be glowing’. To practicing Muslims, it is a month of fasting (sawm), communal prayer (salah), reflection, religious study, strengthening community ties and charity. Fasting is obligatory and is believed to teach self-discipline, self-control, empathy and sacrifice as well as redirecting the heart away from worldly activities and to cleanse the soul. There are exceptions such as those who have not reached puberty, those who are traveling, menstruating, elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, or elderly. The fasting occurs from morning until night with a meal suhur to be eaten before dawn and the nightly feast of iftar, which begins with the eating of dates, representing the three dates Muhammad ate to break his own fast.


General knowledge of Ramadan is outside of my own personal experience so I think it would be better for those who voted for it to go into more detail of the spiritual and cultural significance of the month and what it means to them.
 
My wife and I went to this Mediterranean restaurant one evening. It was pretty empty when we arrived, but the staff were busily putting things on empty tables.

It wasn't long before the place was flooded with patrons. The staff had food on their tables impossibly fast -- they must have had their orders ahead of time -- but the only one eating anything was an infant.

Then sundown hit, and as if on cue, everyone went in. Ramadan!
 
One interesting thing about the Islamic calendar is that it's a purely lunar calendar that makes no attempt a synchronizing itself with the solar year with the addition of leap days or leap months (meaning that their calendar gets an extra year about every 30-something solar years). It wasn't until researching for this list that I finally discovered why I could never remember what Gregorian month Ramadan corresponded to --- it's always changing!

As for why I chose Ramadan, I wanted to pick a non-Gregorian month and I think fasting is a fascinating religious practice.
 
Oh interesting - I was looking at some other lunar calendars that occasionally have entire leap months or other ways of staying roughly synched to seasons, but the Islamic one never does that huh? So Ramadan shifts all the way from summer to winter gradually.. over the course of more than a decade. Which also means daylight fasting lasts a lot longer some times than others. Never knew that. What an interesting gradual shift in how an observance looks, unlike anything we experience.
 
Read up some more on this and apparently the Arabic calendar did once have a leap-month, but it was abandoned after the adoption of Islam due to something in the Quran - though like all religious topics the details seem hotly debated and I certainly wouldn’t pretend to know anything about them.
 
I was the other vote for Ramadan. I find things of value in most religions but Islam has had a special appeal to me for a while now.
 
I didn't think of this and am mad at myself. I have been to a lot of celebrations, have tons of Islamic friends but spaced on this. Always amazing food.
 
10

May

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41 Points, 3 Lists, Highest Vote: #1 @Alex ​

Number of Days: 31



May is the fifth month of the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It was named for the Greek goddess Maia, the goddess of fertility. Appropriate for the month when spring is in full swing, giving way to summer. May holiday and observances include South Asian Heritage Month, Mother’s Day (various countries), Free Comic Book Day, World Laughter Day, and National Pizza Party Day.


The birthstone of the month is the emerald and the birthflowers are the Lily of the Valley and the common hawthorne. Though not birth flowers, the blooming of Mayflowers are also a harbinger of the month. May’s end is the start of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of autumn in the Southern. For me, it’s in that sweet spot when the weather starts to get rather warm and the t-shirts are ready to come out. The maritimes winters are long and hard and the snow isn’t even always all gone by April (usually it’s just reduced to the bigger piles and some crazy soggy ground). May is the end of that hard transition to the warmer days.

 
Ya'll are sleeping on May. It's also the month my daughter was born in, so it's a sentimental favorite.
 
9

Smarch

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51 Points, 4 Lists, Highest Vote: #1 @Violentvixen ​

Number of Days: 28

Smarch is the thirteenth month on the Julian calendar. Holidays and observances for this month include doorknob repair, fire extinguisher refilling and two spaghetti meals in one day. Known for it’s lousy weather and being an inopportune time to touch Willie (most experts suggest July), it also commemorates the death of Springfield beloved groundskeeper, of whom we shall never talk about. Smarch appears only in misprinted school calendars so if you would like to have a fully accurate calendar, get yourself down to a misprinted school right away.

 
First one I thought of so my obvious #1. Have used it multiple times in real life when weather has cancelled plans/travel.
 
8

April

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64 Points, 5 Lists, Highest Vote: #2 @Issun ​

Number of Days: 30

April is the fourth month on the Julian and Gregorian calendar. The latin name is aprillis, which may stem from the word aperire, which means to “open”, in reference to flowers and trees blooming. But there are others who suggest it comes from the name for Aphrodite, and the month may have been called Aphrilis. Notable holidays and observances include Easter (though there are some occasions it can occur in March), Earth Day, Anzac Day. Arab American Heritage Month and April Fools.


Kirin said:
Nice spring weather
Click to expand...


In ancient Rome the month was sacred to Venus and the Roman festival Veneralia was held on her behalf on the first day. Fun or maybe boring fact, the month for a time the amount of days was reduced to 29 before being restored by Julius Caesar. And hey star gazers, check out the Lyrids meteor shower that occurs from April 15-29 (22 usually being the peak). For this month, the birth stone is the diamond and the birth flower is the daisy and the sweet pea. April is when the spring starts coming in. For my hometown, the snow tends to linger and even when it doesn’t the ground gets pretty soggy but the smell of the Earth coming back to life, pungent as it is, is a relief and you really feel the change.

 
Going back a couple of months - I had May at #4 on my list. I think I liked it more when I was younger and in school. It's still nice though.

Hey, did you know that the French word for April is Avril?
 
April is nice because things are blooming but the pollen hasn't really gotten going yet. Usually it's Easter time, so Cadbury Mini Eggs are out, it's one of the two months of the year where the temperature reliably hovers around where I like it, and lilac is in bloom. We had a lilac bush in the backyard of my childhood home so it's an incredibly powerful smell for me.
 
7

March

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65 Points, 5 Lists, Highest Votes: #2 @Violentvixen & @Yorin Trouble ​

Number of Days: 31

April is the third month on the Julian and Gregorian calendar. The meteorological beginning of spring begins March 1st but it doesn’t feel like it, does it? The month takes it’s name from Mars, the God of War who, thanks to Record of Ragnarok, I can only imagine as this dude.

vhb1xdxpir9a1.jpg


OK, that’s Ares but same diff, really. Anyway, festivals were held in his honour in this month with mirroring festivals in October. The birthstones of the month are Aquamarine and Bloodstone while the flower is the daffodil! Other notable holidays and observances include St. Patrick’s Day, the Vernal Equinox and World Puppet Day!


March is also home to MARCH MADNESS the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. If you love basketball this is the BIG DANCE to watch. I feel like people talk about this more than whatever the major league basketball finals are. I… I don’t know a lot about pro sports. But I do know this is a big deal!


It’s also when the snow FINALLY starts to get out of the way. It comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, they say, though I’ve personally found the opposite to be as likely to be true. I have a co-worker who is not used to the weather and basically I had to explain that guessing what March is gonna be like is a fool’s errand. But this is the season of transition to be sure.

Yorin Trouble said:
The world is starting to warm again, winter is ending, you can smell the earth start to grow.
Click to expand...

 
Funny we hit all of Spring almost in a row up in the first half of the list here. I had April as my representative, most likely to have the nicest weather around here.
 
6

June

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70 Points, 5 Lists, Highest Votes: #2 @Alex, @Johnny Unusual & @RT-55J ​

Number of Days: 30

June is the sixth month on the Julian and Gregorian calendar. It is when Summer begins in the Northern hemisphere. Pearl, moonstone and alexandrite are the birthstones of the month while the birth flowers are rose and honeysuckle. Notable holidays and observances include father’s day, Juneteenth, pride month, trans day of action and national donut day.


The name is derived from Iunius, which was named for the god Juno, the protector and special counsellor of the state. It is also the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts until the end of November. It’s also home to the FIFA World Cup, a big day for fans of soccer. Yes, FIFA itself is… pretty evil, but the players and the game include some of the highest level play you will ever see.


Really its where Summer begins and if you are a kid, Summer vacation. I remember the excitement for that, especially when you are old enough to look after yourself and really enjoy the pleasure of lazy days when you get to do pretty much whatever you want. I remember specifically the excitement leading up to the days when school was transitioning into sillier, less educational stuff (let’s watch a movie) when the lesson plans were done! Time for watermelon and hot dogs.

 
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