Each day of the year was appropriately personified, and these genii of
the days constitute the saints of the Christian calendar. Of these we
will refer to but one. According to the ancient belief that the sun
stood still for the space of three days at each of the cardinal points,
the 24th of June was made the first of the decreasing days; and
dedicating it to St. John the Baptist, he is made to say in reference
to his opposite, (the genius of the 25th of December, and first of the
increasing days,) "He must increase, but I must decrease." This text,
found in John iii. 30, simply means that the days of the one must
increase in length, while the days of the other must decrease.


The Months.

The fable of the twelve labors having been superseded by others, in
which the genii of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, corresponding to the
months, were designated as angels, and made to minister to God Sol
while making his apparent annual revolution; but, when constituted the
attendants of the incarnate saviours during their imaginary earth life,
they were personified as men and called Disciples. Of these genii of
the months we will refer only to the first and the last. The first
month, dedicated to the genius known in the mythology as Janus, and
from which was derived the name January, was portrayed with two faces,
the one of an old man looking mournfully backward over the old year,
and the other of a young man looking joyfully forward to the new year.
This personification, made the opener of the year, and represented as
holding a pair of cross-keys, was called "The carrier of the keys of
the kingdom of heaven." Hence, the Popes of Rome, claiming apostolic
succession from Peter, the Janus of the Christian twelve, wear
cross-keys as the insignia of their office. Sometimes a crosier, or