Slavic calendar


While many Slavic languages officially use Latin-derived names for the months of the year in the Gregorian calendar, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months that differs from the Latin month names, as they are of Slavic origin. In some languages, such as the Serbian language these traditional names have since been archaized and are thus seldom used.
The original names of the months of the year in the Slavic languages closely follow natural occurrences such as weather patterns and conditions common for that period, as well as agricultural activities.
Many months have several alternative names in different regions.

Names

Croatian months

The Croatian months used with the Gregorian calendar by Croats differ from the original Latin month names:
No.Latin nameEnglish nameCroatian nameCroatian meaning
1IanuariusJanuarysiječanj, but there are also dialectal terms 'svečan, svičen, sičan' that have a meaning 'festive', so there is a possibility of a meaning 'festive month'
2FebruariusFebruaryveljačamonth in which days become longer ; also, possibly from "Velja Noć", old Slavic pagan festival that falls in modern-day February
3MartiusMarchožujaklying month, because the weather is changing often
4AprilisApriltravanj
5MaiusMaysvibanjmonth of budding
6IuniusJunelipanj
7IuliusJulysrpanj
8AugustusAugustkolovozmonth of driving the wagon — +
9SeptemberSeptemberrujanmonth of animal mating
10OctoberOctoberlistopadmonth of falling leaves — +
11NovemberNovemberstudeni
12DecemberDecemberprosinacthe beginning of the Sun's shining ; probably used for January at first, as it's still often used for that month in other Slavic languages. Also, less probably month of begging, from prositi = to beg.

Some names are derived from archaic Croatian-Slavic words that are no longer found in standard Croatian dictionaries. In some cases even the meaning of those words is ambiguous.
In Macedonian, listopad is also the name for October but Polish and Czech listopad, Belarusian listapad and Ukrainian листопад mean November. Likewise, Polish sierpień, Czech srpen and Ukrainian cерпень mean August rather than July; Czech říjen means October rather than September; Slovenian prosinec means January rather than December; and Polish lipiec, Belarusian лiпень and Ukrainian липень mean July rather than June.

Czech months

The names of Czech months are, as in Polish, Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian not based on the Latin names used in most European languages.
The suffix -en is added to most of the months' names.
The Macedonian language has two sets of names of the months of the Gregorian calendar. The most commonly used set of names is derived from the Latin month names and these are used by the vast majority of the Macedonian population. However, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months of Slavic origin that differ from the Latin month names, although their usage is archaized and largely restricted to folk literature and religious calendars issued by the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
The origin of the Macedonian month names is closely related to the agricultural activities that occur in the corresponding period, or to the weather condition common for that period. Some months have alternative names in different regions. The usage of modern Latin month names among Macedonians started towards the end of the 19th century, as a result of mass education.
No.Latin nameEnglish nameMacedonian CyrillicMacedonian LatinOld Macedonian nameTransliterationMeaning
1.IanuariusJanuaryЈануариJanuariКоложегKoložegMonth of burning tree trunks
2.FebruariusFebruaryФевруариFevruariСечкоSečkoMonth of ice
3.MartiusMarchМартMartЦутарCutarMonth of blossoming
4.AprilisAprilАприлAprilТревенTrevenMonth of grass
5.MaiusMayМајMajКосарKosarTime of flowering grasses and shrubs
6.IuniusJuneЈуниJuniЖетварŽetvarTime of maturity of the first yield of fruits
7.IuliusJulyЈулиJuliЗлатецZlatecGolden month
8.AugustusAugustАвгустAvgustЖитарŽitarMonth of wheat
9.SeptemberSeptemberСептемвриSeptemvriГроздоберGrozdoberMonth of harvesting grapes
10.OctoberOctoberОктомвриOktomvriЛистопадListopadMonth of leaves falling
11.NovemberNovemberНоемвриNoemvriСтуденStudenMonth of cold
12.DecemberDecemberДекемвриDekemvriСнежникSnežnikMonth of snow