It's Not What It Seems by Jane Vest

The old gods of mythology are with us yet. They hide in the most unusual places. January is one of them, a month named for the two-headed Roman god Janus. One head faced the past, the other the future, a fitting symbol for the beginning of a new year. The month of June is named for Juno, wife of the Chief Roman god Jupiter. Since the Romans deified some of their later emperors by vote of the Senate, Caesar Augustus lent his name to the month of August.

Examine the days of the week. Sunday is dedicated to the sun-god Sol, Monday to the moon goddess Luna. A new element appears - Tuesday is named in honor of a Germanic war god Tiu. The Norse gods take over the rest of the week. Wednesday is Wodin's day, a god comparable to Jupiter. Thursday is Thor's day, the god of thunder and lightening whose symbol is the hammer. Friday returns to the feminine in Freya, consort of Wodin. Saturday is Saturn's day. He is the god of the harvest and father of the goddess Ceres from whom we get the word cereal.

There are other places where the gods hide. In the Saturnalia, a Roman feast at the end of the year, work ceased and gifts were exchanged. Is this the origin of Christmas gift-giving? At Halloween, the night before All Saints Day, the Celtic elementals are presumed to be the closest to the earth and may manifest. May Day and dancing around the May pole is a spring rite devoted to Adonis, a Greek counterpart of Persephone, said to spend six months above the earth and six months below, the seed analogy. The winter solstice indicates its origin by its name.

There are many widespread usages and customs in which to discover the hiding places of the gods. The myths and folk tales contain kernels of universal truths. Careful searching brings them to light. Want to try?