Americans celebrate Thanksgiving each November, thus kicking off a holiday season that lasts until January 1. Though many see November as the start to a festive time of year, there’s even more interesting and fun facts about the eleventh month of the year.

 

Like various other months on the calendar, November has something of a misleading name. November gets its name from the Latin word “novem,” which means “nine.” But today November is the eleventh month of the year. So is November a misnomer? Not exactly. November was the ninth month on the early Roman calendar. However, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted and the Julian calendar was abandoned, November kept its name if not its spot in the monthly pecking order. Hence, November is still known as “November” even though it’s now the eleventh month of the year and not the ninth.

 

If October goes out with ghouls and goblins on Halloween, which is celebrated on October 31, November begins a little more piously. That’s because November 1 is All Saints’ Day, a Christian solemnity, or feast day, that honors of the saints of the Christian church.

 

November is a significant month in world history. On November 11, 1918, at 5:45 a.m., an armistice was signed between the Allied Powers and Germany in France. The signing of the armistice ended hostilities on the Western Front, thus putting an end to World War I, which had begun more than four years earlier. The signing of the armistice ultimately led to the observance of Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. Armistice Day was subsequently renamed Remembrance Day and Americans celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. Both Remembrance Day and Veterans Day honor military personnel who served honorably in times of war, conflict and peace.

 

Topaz is the traditional birthstone of November. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the ancient Greeks believed topaz could make anyone who wore it invisible. Though that idea no longer holds water, topaz remains a symbol of honor and strength.

 

Upon his inauguration as President of the United States in 2021, Joe Biden became the sixth U.S. president with a November birthday. That tied November with July as the months with the most presidential birthdays. In addition to President Biden, Presidents James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, James A. Garfield, and Warren G. Harding were all born in November.