December (Roman month) December (Roman month) December (from Latin "decem", "ten") or mensis December was originally the tenth month of the Roman calendar, following November ("novem", "nine") and preceding Ianuarius. It had 29 days. When the calendar was reformed to create a 12-month year starting in Ianuarius, December became the twelfth month, but retained its name, as did the other numbered months from Quintilis (July) through December. Its length was increased to 31 days under the Julian calendar reform. The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the first day through the last. Instead, they counted back from the three
September (Roman month) The scales represent Libra, the astrological sign entered late in the month. In the "Laus omnium mensium" ("Praise of All the Months"), a poem dating to the early 6th century, September "divides the hours equally for Libra". In an ancient Christian mosaic from Gerasa in the province of Arabia (present-day Jordan), September has the typical attributes of a vintager in Roman art—a young man wearing a tunic and chlamys carries a bunch of grapes in his right hand and has a basket on his shoulder—but is labeled as "Gorpiaios", the first month of the year in the local calendar, equivalent