25 March 19

Have you ever wondered how our months of September (based on "seven"), October (based on "eight"), November (based on "nine") and December (based on "ten") became the ninth through twelfth months on the calendar? The answer is related directly to today's status as "Old New Year's Day." So I'm wearing my Frank Lloyd Wright "Confetti" tie to show my party spirit. In the Roman Empire, and continuing in most of Europe through the 1750s, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25. So March was the first month, and the seventh month was known as September, and so on. With the adoption of the "Gregorian" calendar in the 1750s, New Year's Day was shifted to January 1. There's another "Old New Year's Day" associated with January 11/12, but that change is far more recent than this truly old day from the Roman Empire!