JANUARY

THE MONTH
On the current day calendar, January is the first month of a new year. It is named after Janus (Ianuarius), the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door (ianua) - January is the door to the year.

January is also most noted as usually having the coldest days of the year and of course if anybody has listened to the whether news at all, this has certainly been the case this year. So many people on the east coast got to have a white Chistmas, cold but still white. Check out my friends blog at http://dragon-quilter.blogspot.com and see some of her incredible winter shots. As for me, I live on the West coast in the Los Angeles area so our Christmas was ashen. We who live in the northern part of the county still continually get to wake up to ash covered sidewalks and streets. This does not make for smiling faces!

However, on with things about the month of January. Of course there are a lot of "Hollywood type" celebrities that have birthdays in January but did you know that Betsy Ross who was credited with making the first American flag was born in January in 1752. There were many other great people in history with birthdays in January like Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, Dr. Martin Luther King, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Robert E. Lee, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John Hancock - a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot. Many great people born in this month.

And of course... January is the sign of the Capricorn and the garnet represents the birthstone of the month.

THE BIRTHSTONE
Garnet - the name may come from either the Middle English word gernet 'dark red', or Latin granatus ("grain"), possibly a reference to the Punica granatum ("pomegranate"), a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size.

Garnets can be found in many different colors orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink but the medium dark red is my choice. The other colors seem to relate to other birthstones. This stone is sometimes mixed up with the ruby which is slightly darker in color or the Alexandrite which is the pinkish color.

People who are born in January often associate the with having a tendency towards energy, deep down sincere, or devotion. As a birthstone, garnet is a protective and guiding gem. The garnet remains a symbolic sign for the gift of love for those celebrating the 18th anniversary, the ideal gift for a second anniversary.

No matter the date, a garnet is always a beautiful gift to get and receive.
www.mywireworks.com/garnet.htm

Also:
References from: http://en.wikipedia.org