As we’re getting ready for fall and winter, remember these factoids about the ninth month of the year:

• September was originally the seventh month, according to the ancient Roman calendar, and that’s where it gets its name. It became the ninth month after the calendar changed in 451 B.C.
• The Romans associated September with Vulcan, the god of fire, possibly because as the seventh month it was in the middle of the hot summer.
• The Anglo-Saxons called September Gerst Monath, which meant “Barley Month,” because barley was harvested at that time of year. The barley was also brewed as a popular beverage in celebration of the harvest.
• In another calendar change, the British eliminated Sept. 2–14 in 1752 to bring the month in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, which replaced the Julian calendar.
• Fall begins in the northern hemisphere on the equinox, which falls between Sept. 21 and 23. In the southern hemisphere, the equinox signifies the beginning of spring.