The ancient Hungarian months
We already know that the Hungarian language is full of amazing and, at the same time, puzzling phrases and not even cities can escape the clever wit of Hungarians. Although in these days Hungarians use the modern names for months that are more or less uniform across all languages, the denomination of the months was quite interesting some centuries ago.
| Old Hungarian name | English Translation | |
| January | Vízöntő/Boldogasszony/Nagyboldogasszony hava | The month of Aquarius/of the Blessed Virgin Mary/of Assumption |
| February | böjt előhava / böjtelő hava | The month before fasting |
| March | böjt máshava / böjtmás hava | The month after fasting |
| April | Szent György hava | Saint George’s month |
| May | Pünkösd hava | The month of Pentecost |
| June | nyárelő hava / Szent Iván hava | The month before summer / Saint John’s month |
| July | Szent Jakab hava | Saint Jacob’s month |
| August | Kisasszony hava | The Virgin’s month |
| September | Szent Mihály hava | Saint Michael’s month |
| October | Mindszent hava | Allsaint’s month |
| November | Szent András hava | Saint Andrew’s month |
| December | Karácsony hava | The month of Christmas |
The Szekler (often referred to as ancient) names are symbolic of and reflect the changes in the season and weather.
| Szekler name | English Translation | |
| January | Fergeteg hava | Month of storms |
| February | Jég hava | Month of ice |
| March | Kikelet hava | Month of springtime |
| April | Szelek hava | Month of winds |
| May | Ígéret hava | Month of promise |
| June | Napisten hava | The Sun God’s month |
| July | Áldás hava | Month of blessing |
| August | Újkenyér hava | Month of the New Bread |
| September | Földanya hava | Mother Earth’s month |
| October | Magvető hava | Sower’s month |
| November | Enyészet hava | Month of decay |
| December | Álom hava | Month of dreams |
The Arvisura names are taken from a written work, Arvisurák (Arvisures, in loose translation) by Zoltán Paál. According to Paál, the Arvisures are made up of Hun and Hungarian mythology along with these peoples’ belief system, thus his work describes thousands of years of their history and world-view. Concerning the etymology of the Hungarian word ‘Arvisura’, what is known is that it denotes ‘a word that says the truth’.
| Arvisura name | English Translation | |
| January | Jég hava | Month of ice |
| February | Hó hava | Month of snow |
| March | Fák hava | Month of trees |
| April | Rügyezés hava | Month of blooming |
| May | Virágzás hava | Month of blossoming |
| June | Napérés hava | Month of ripening |
| July | Aratás hava | Month of reaping |
| August | Bőség hava | Month of plenty |
| September | Szüret hava | Month of harvest |
| October | Begyűjtés hava | Month of housing |
| November | Levelek hava | Month of leaves |
| December | Istenfiak hava | Month of the divines |
Source: Daily News Hungary
Old Magyar, Hun and Szekely would not have 12 months. I have no idea how many months they would have broken down the year into, but the 12 month calendar is a creation to add Roman leaders names, Julius and Augustus. Prior to that, the year was broken down into 10 months..