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In Ukraine, months’ names connect us with nature
These old Slavic words keep us closer to our roots and our land
When a new month or a bigger, seasonal transition happens, I always look out for subtle or rough transformations of nature. Isn’t that what we all do — picking up the signs of what has changed around us? Has it snowed? Has it rained? Has it sunned? Has it greened, bloomed or dried the earth of water?
While such changes take place, our eyes adjust to a new colour palette — sometimes brighter and richer but often more monotonous and reserved. Our bodies shift energy towards something new — to cool down or heat the insides. We might hear new but familiar bird songs. We might even smell the scent of change in the air. And, of course, our tongue twists into new shapes: we use many different words, metaphors, idioms and other linguistic tools to describe that ever-changing world of nature.
Despite how organic and fundamental such acclimatization is to human experience, many European languages lost that connection with nature as they submitted to the overwhelming spread of Christianity and adopted calendars proposed by the church.
Today, the names of months barely tell us anything about what they should tell us about — nature. What does January tell us about… January? It’s not intuitive…
